


Tea Leaves and Sapphire Earrings

by Noizchild



Series: Wasteland 2011 [24]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Apocalypse, Baby, Childbirth, Conspiracy, Death, Fear, Karma - Freeform, Love, Memories, Multi, Murder, Past Lives, Pregnancy, Revenge, Sad, Siren, con man, ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2020-05-19 13:00:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 41,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19357546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noizchild/pseuds/Noizchild
Summary: Vol. 8 is up. Ju is coming to the end of her pregnancy but she cannot relax with Jianjin and Junjie on the lose. Everything on the surface looks so calm. Something is about to give. With Ludwig out his coma, Kiku on the verge of breaking down, and Arthur under complete control of Mam, things couldn't get any worse. With Vozrozhdenyie's latest project, it might. Then there is her...





	1. Pregnant, Paperwork, and Tracking

Tea Leaves and Sapphire Earrings

Match One: Pregnant, Paperwork, and Tracking:

-Ju-

My name is Wang Ju and I will be six months pregnant in two weeks. Let me tell you something. It's not fun. Ladies, and some trans men, will understand. When I sit down, I don't want to get up again. I'm like, "Get me some rice, honey! Can you get me a pillow? Oh the house is on fire? There's a fire extinguisher in the kitchen!" I found myself dozing off on the couch. I feel like all I do is eat and sleep. The mothers have been stopping me from working.

"You can't be on your feet at time like this," Bik keeps saying.

"I know, I know," I said. Little Bean's not little anymore. I am carrying around a nice-sized melon. My feet are always swollen. My back constantly hurts. I looked down at my abdomen.

"You better not be a jerk baby," I warned them. I sighed as Little Bean started to kick. Typical response. Looks like I've got a little rebel on my hands. Man, oh, man.

I looked up when I heard the door open.

"I'm home," I heard Yao said. I turned my head when he walked into the living room. I smiled a bit.

"Yo," I said. He walked over and kissed me on the forehead.

"How are you?" Yao asked.

"Tired," I said. "Please tell me you have something for me to do."

"I sure do," he said. He handed me another stack of papers.

"Thanks," I said. This is what I am reduced to now. I can't really be active around the office. I refused to sit around and do nothing. I pulled out my pen and read the first page.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Yao asked.

"Yes!" I said. I signed the first page and set it aside. He knew not to argue with me. I get cranky when I am not working. Being inactive drives me crazy.

"Okay then," Yao said. Do you need anything?"

"I am a bit hungry," I said.

"I'll go make you something then," he said.

"Thank you," I said. I buried myself into my paperwork. Combating boredom isn't my only reason for doing this. My uncle and Junjie are still on the loose. I can't afford to relax with a kid on the way.

I stopped writing and sighed.

I just wish there could be a faster way to get this out of the way. Little Bean kicked at my stomach again.

"Okay, okay," I said. "I'll get back to work. Geez." I started reading over page ten.

"You know I can't really work with you kicking me like that, right?" I asked the little rebel inside of me.

"What do you want to eat?" Yao asked. I shrugged over my paperwork.

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe something light. Surprise me."

"Okay," he said. I found myself halfway through the stack. This was all that I could do for now. I can't meet business partners in person. I can and I want to. But you know who is stopping me, right?

"You should starts taking it easy," Bik keeps saying. I just force myself to smile and nod. What can I do? The mothers haven't stopped fussing over me. They toned it down some I am happy to say. There are still arguments about whether Little Bean will be a boy or a girl. I just tune those out and keep going. I had to remind Yao about what we agreed on.

"We can't cheat," I said. "We promised to wait until the baby's born."

"But what if there are problems that we need to see?" he asked.

"We can go to the doctor and not have them tell what gender the child is," I said. Sorry Yao, but I am going to be traditional on that one.

I leaned back on my couch and looked at the ceiling. There is one way that I have been able to keep up with Jianjun and Junjie. I pulled out my phone and unlocked the screen. One new notification. Heh. I tapped on the screen. No new information so far. Jianjun and Junjie have been holed up in that hotel for three days now. I don't understand why we haven't acted yet.

"Why haven't we caught this guy?" I asked Hen-to yesterday.

"Do we have a plan to take him?" he asked. That one gave me pause. How were we going to deal with my uncle? Junjie we can deal with just fine. My uncle on the other hand… Yeah. The problem is that neither one has done anything illegal yet. The police have their eyes on Junjie even though he made bail. Even Zhong's people are watching too. (I hope he will be okay.)

"I can handle myself just fine," he told me the other day.

"But he's with my uncle now," I said. "We don't know what they can pull together." There is no getting through to that man.

I looked up when I could smell something spicy and fried. Yao stood in the doorway with two plates on a tray.

"Are you ready to eat?" he asked.

"Oh, sure," I said. I set aside the rest of my papers. Yao put the tray down on my table. He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of me.

"You're eating out here with us?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. "Is that okay with you?" Yao picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

"Sure," I said. I looked down at my plate. "What is this?"

"Chicken curry noodles with chili oil," he said.

"Yao, you know I can't have spicy things," I said.

"It's really mild," Yao said. "I tasted it myself." I picked up my chopsticks and took a bite. Well, he was right.

"How is it?" he asked.

"I kind can't taste anything," I said. "But I will eat it." My husband looked down at my plate.

"It tastes fine to me," he muttered.

"Maybe that's because you're not pregnant," I said. Yao shrugged his shoulders.

"Fair enough," he said.

"There's been no activity again," I said. My husband glanced up at me.

"That's good, isn't it?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I don't like it," I said. I picked up my phone. "It's too quiet. They are planning something." Yao put his hand over mine.

"We will get them," he said.

"How?" I asked. "Do we even have a plan?" He squeezed my hands and pressed his forehead against mine.

"We will come up with something," Yao insisted. I tried to make myself smile. Why did that not sound so reassuring?

"What's wrong?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I'm just tired," I said.

"Well, just finish your dinner and I will run a bath for you," he said. I nodded once.

"Okay," I said. I picked up my chopsticks and went back to eating. This meal is so bland. Oh wait, there's the chili. Ooo. Hey. This isn't too bad.


	2. Balete Tree

Match Two: Balete Tree:

"I think I screwed up big time," Alfred said. Matthew gave him a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The American man shook his head. He didn't come to his brother for help. Alfred couldn't reach out to anyone at the moment. Everyone seemed to be distant. Sena wouldn't let anyone talk to Kiku as he fell deeper into his black hole. Ivan said that he would be too busy to talk for a while. Yao was busy dealing with a baby on the way and chasing down his wife's uncle and his partner. Francis didn't seem like the right person to talk to. And Arthur…

Alfred went by Arthur's flat five days before he slept with Florence. He knocked on the door and waited. A confused look came over his face when a woman greeted him. Her head came up to his chest. Her bright blonde hair stood outside the black robes that swallowed her little frame. The American man gave her a blank stare at first.

"Uh… Is Arthur in right now?" I asked. She looked at him with no emotion on her face.

"I'm sorry, but I do not know you," this woman said. Her voice sounded so dull, so robotic as she spoke.

"But…" Alfred said. The door was slammed in his face. And that was it. All attempts to contact the English man ended in failure. Just like everyone else did, the American man gave up trying.

In present day, Alfred rubbed his forehead.

"Dude, I don't even know where to begin with this," he said. He looked up at his younger brother. Matthew didn't look so chilled out like he normally did. He didn't have a smile on his face either.

"What's the matter with you?" Alfred asked.

"Hm? Oh…" his brother said in a quiet voice. Matthew sat down front of him at the kitchen table.

"Well… I think I was a neglected child who died of starvation," he admitted in a soft voice. Alfred blinked at him.

"That can't be right," he said.

"I know," the Canadian man said. "But I keep having these visions…"

"Visions?" American man asked. He grabbed his brother by the wrist. Mathew about jumped from the sudden movement.

"Tell me everything that you've seen," Alfred said. The Canadian man shivered.

"I don't really know what to tell you," he admitted. "It just comes in pieces. I… I… I don't know what's going on!" The color drained from Matthew's face. Alfred let go of his wrist.

"Sorry about that man," he said. "I'm sorry. I've just had so much on my mind. I really screwed up this time."

"What did you do?" the Canadian man asked. Alfred's face began to turn red.

"You remember Florence, right?" he asked.

"Vaguely," Matt said. "Who is that again?" The American man rubbed his forehead.

"Red hair to her shoulders, pale in the winter, really pretty in summer, looks like a hippie," he said. The Canadian man looked confused as his brother spoke. Alfred waved him off as his face turned redder.

"Never mind that!" he shouted. "Anyway…" The American man desperately looked around before leaning in. Matthew leaned in likewise.

"I slept with her a few nights ago," Alfred confessed. The Canadian turned to him with big eyes and a red face.

"What?!" he asked. The American man quickly turned his head. That night's events began to replay in his head. He hadn't been able to talk to her or look her in the eye. And the American man had to go back over there and check on Florence again.

"O… Okay…" Matthew said at last.

"Yeah," his brother said. Neither man spoke at first. Alfred mumbled something under his breath.

"Hm?" the Canadian man asked. His brother shook his head. The worst part was that he wanted more. But not like this. It just didn't feel right.

"I never wanted this for her, man," Alfred said. "I feel like I took advantage of her."

"I'm sure you didn't," Matthew said.

"No," the American man was quick to say. "You don't understand!" He took a deep breath. How could be put it into words? Alfred grabbed his head and shook it head.

"Damn it," he grumbled. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!" He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I don't even know why I came here."

"Well, what do you want?" Matthew asked.

"I don't know!" Alfred said. "I don't even know why I am telling you all of this, dude. I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"It's okay," Matthew said. But then he paused. "Are you having visions too?" The American man froze.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"What do you see?" his brother asked. Alfred glanced up at him as those high school visions danced around in his head. The girl's, assuming that was an old friend of his, sad face was all that it took for him to open his mouth.

* * *

"I am back," Alfred said as he walked into living room.

"Welcome back," Florence said in a whisper. She sat on the couch in the dark. Alfred blinked for a moment.

"You didn't turn on a light?" he asked. "Why is it so dark in here?" Alfred reached out for the light switch and turned it on. Florence looked up with a tired smile on her face.

"How are you?" Alfred asked.

"Good," she said. "Tired but good." Neither one has really been talking lately. She seemed to act like nothing happened. Alfred didn't know how to bring it up without being so awkward. Could she even understand what she was talking about?

"Hey, Florence," Alfred spoke up. The tree spirit turned her head. The American man froze. Well, he had her attention now. Why couldn't he say what he wanted to her?

"Hey, what is that on your neck?" he asked.

"Huh?" Florence asked. The American man leaned in and looked at her neck. He noticed a small circular red pattern just under above her throat.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure…" Alfred said. He pulled out his phone and dialed up the number needed in this situation. Deep down, he couldn't help but feel that he might have caused it in a way.

Meanwhile, the little girl with the Hello Kitty backpack stood in the window looking in. Her little face pressed against the glass. She had her empty eyes on Alfred as he walked into the kitchen on his phone.


	3. Enenra

Match Three: Enenra:

He just stares out the window all day. This was the only time he ever got out of bed. Sena sat by Kiku's side and rubbed his shoulder.

"You'll be okay, honey," she whispered. Her words meant nothing to him. Sena to have known that by now. Whether she did or not, she would not say. She turned her head when she heard a knock on the door. A nurse stood in the doorway.

"Oh, is this a bad time?" she asked. Sena didn't say anything. The nurse shifted in place for a moment.

"Uh… I am just here to take his tray away," she said. "I could come back later if you like."

"No, it's fine," Sena said. The nurse still looked confused.

"O… Okay," she said. Sena turned back to her husband as the nurse started cleaning up. She didn't know when or if he would ever come back. The black marks started to spread down to his feet. He had perpetual red scratches down his back. Little nixes covered his forehead. The doctors couldn't figure out where they were coming from. They asked Sena questions and she didn't have an answer for them. She began to despise the judgmental looks the hospital staff gave her.

"I am not abusing him," she told one of the physicians last night.

"I didn't say you were," he told her in a calm voice. Sena folded her arms across her chest and frowned.

"You were thinking it though," she muttered.

"I can promise you that we aren't," the doctor said, still sounding like he was calming down an upset child.

"I can see it in your eyes," Sena said. "All of you!"

"I understand how you feel," the doctor said. "You are just tired." She shot him an ice-filled glare.

"Don't patronize me," Sena hissed. She turned and walked down the hall. They didn't understand. How could they?

* * *

Right now, Sena sat on the floor of the bathroom in Kiku's room.

"I don't know what to do him," she said on her phone. "He's getting worse. I can't reach his therapist. The staff doesn't know where he is either." Sena sighed and pushed her bangs upwards.

"He's much calmer now. He just looks out the window all day. No, he doesn't eat all. He doesn't move at all. It's been going on for weeks." She looked out into the room.

"Hm? I did get some sleep last night. I'm fine. You don't need to worry me. It's Kiku you need to worry about." She dropped her hand by her side.

"I understand. But I can't leave him. These doctors and staff are that stupid. They won't believe me. I don't even know how to explain it. Okay, okay. I understand. I will keep you posted." Sena looked down at her phone. She could feel herself shaking again.

* * *

Time was about to run out. Only one more gate left to open in Ikebukuro. That damned woman wasn't the only one visiting him now. The other day, he heard the door opening behind him. Sena wasn't supposed be here for another three hours. Kiku slowly turned his head.

A woman dressed in a lacy black dress with a big matching hat stood in the doorway. The site of her tied up Kiku's stomach in knots. Every inch of his body froze.

"Good morning, Honda-san," the woman said. Her voice sounded sweet but dripping with acid. She walked over to him on his bed and circled to the front. This woman gave off a low whistle.

"My, my, my," she said. The woman took him by his cheeks.

"Poor poppet," she said in a low voice. "She calls you every night, doesn't she? Must be exhausting, isn't it?" The woman let go of his cheeks and chuckled to herself.

"There, there," she said. "It will all be over soon. After all…" The woman leaned in close to his ear. Her toxic words made his eyes widen. Kiku's body shivered as the color drained from his face. The woman pulled away smiling as he broke down screaming.

"Yes, let it all out," she hissed.

"What's going on in here?!" another woman asked. The woman in black looked up to see Sena standing in the doorway, glaring at her.

"Oh, you must be the wife," the woman in black said. "Nice to meet you. My name is Hecate Mayfair."

"I don't care," Sena said. "My husband is not supposed to have any visitors in here. Get out of here or I will call security on your ass." Hecate put up her hands.

"Fine," she said. "I was done here, anyway." The nightcomer walked by with a smile on her face. But not before adding one more thing that only Sena could hear.

"We will see each other again during the end, dear Okinawa," Hecate whispered. By the time Sena turned around, the woman in black was already gone. She shivered but then shook her head to herself. Sena muttered something to the effect of how this hospital needed better security.

* * *

Hecate already did her damage to Kiku on her visit. Through his fragile mind, he recognized who she really was.

It was her!

Kiku could feel every time a Gate of the Apocalypse was being opened. Invisible claws dug into his back, the tips inching closer to his heart. With each opening, Kiku grew sicker. He didn't want to sleep anymore. Trays of his food started piling up in the corner of the room. Sena had to be the one to wash him in the morning. He looked so pale, so thin. It was a miracle that his hair didn't start falling out. Sena was starting to look worn out for caring for him. When was the last time she got any sleep?

For now, everything felt calm. But he knew better.

It's coming.

Kiku held out his wrists. He hadn't heard her voice in his head as of late, but he knew that she was still there. He could feel her eyes on his scratched up back.

The poor man shut his eyes.

Screaming and flaring danced around his ears. There she was again. The Woman in Red stood before me with no emotion on her face. Every inch of Kiku's body screamed, "run." But he couldn't move. The Woman in Red moved her mouth as if to say something. He narrowed his eyes.

What are you saying?

Though he could not hear what she was saying, he understood her words. He had an idea of where the last target was on his body. The Japanese man grabbed at his head.

"No… No… No!" he said. Only, no sound came out his mouth. It choked him to scream. A graceful hand rested on his head. He couldn't even bring himself to look up. Her eyes never left him.

Then she said something that sealed what was coming next. Those were the same words that Hecate told him. There was no sound but he already knew what was coming next. When the Woman in Red finally said, Kiku's hand went limp by his side.

It would only be a matter time before act one was over.

* * *

Hours later, Sena came back to check on her husband. To her horror, she found Kiku lying on the floor, shaking.

"Baby? Baby?!" she screamed as she ran over to him. She grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him gently. His inky eyes looked so empty. The man tried to speak but his words came out choked up.

"Kiku? Kiku?! Somebody help!" Sena shouted. She reached over and hit the panic button. The whole time, her husband could hear everything albeit feeling like he was underwater. He began to remember what Hecate and the Woman in Red told him on their unwanted visits in the hospital. Could it be that this moment has started now?

"Tiger, tiger burning bright in this dying world. I cannot wait to be your bride on the sea of corpses."


	4. The Witches' Dance

Match Four: The Witches' Dance:

One more gate left.

Hecate and Lucy have been busy in Ikebukuro. But what about their sisters? They have been busy too. They are preparing for the Fall Festival coming to England. Allison could see a new opportunity from Beijing.

She opened her eyes in the darkness.

"A new baby?" she asked. A knock came on her door. Allison whipped her head around.

"What is it?" she asked. She narrowed her eyes as the door opened. A red-haired nightcomer poked her head inside. Allison rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" she asked. The younger woman walked into the room.

"We have a problem," she muttered.

"What?" her mother asked. Her daughter looked down at her hands.

"The last gate can't be opened so easily with our magic," she admitted. Allison raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Uh… It's kind of hard to say," she said in a low voice. Allison started to see fire in her eyes. The younger nightcomer stood up straight.

"It is said that the last gate takes blood," she said in a high-pitched voice. "Our blood."

"Exsanguination?" Allison asked.

"Yes," the nightcomer said. Her mother could already connect the dots. She patted the nightcomer on her head.

"Good job, Sabine," she said. Sabine forced herself to smile.

"Of course," she said. Allison looked her in the eye.

"Anything else?" she asked. Sabine quickly shook her head.

"No, Mother," she said. "I will take my leave now." Her mother drew back her hand.

"Very good," she said. Sabine bowed her head and walked out of the room. Allison smiled to herself as the door closed.

* * *

Chatter floated among the nightcomers. One sister would have to die to bring the new world. While they talked, Lucy kept to herself. Everything she did seemed a little bit forced. Right now, she stared out the window with her mind miles away.

_Lucy. Lucy. Lucy!_

The white-haired nightcomer jerked her head upwards. Sabine stood in front of her, waving her hand in her face. Lucy blinked for a moment.

"Hm?" she asked.

"You feeling okay?" her sister asked. Lucy looked at Sabine at first, then you to Hecate, and finally Allison towards the end of the table.

"Uh… yeah, yeah," she said. Lucy cleared her throat. She walked over and took a seat at the table.

"What about this baby you were talking about?" she asked. Allison frowned as she narrowed her eyes.

"I sensed a child all the way in Beijing," she said. Lucy titled her head.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

"The child isn't born yet," Hecate said.

"And why is that important?" her sister asked. Allison cleared her throat.

"I could hear their voice calling out to me," she said. Her daughters stared at her with puzzled looks on their faces.

"What did this kid say?" Hecate asked. Allison took a sip of her wine.

"The words are not clear yet," she said. "Something about the child's glow has my attention." Allison held out her hand with her palm up. A small yellow light flickered in the air. A high-pitched whispered circled around the light. The supreme closed her eyes and took a listen. Her daughters leaned for a listen. The air in the room became heavy. A loud note jumped in her ears. Allison drew back her hand and opened her eyes.

"I heard the child's heart," Hecate said.

"Yes," Allison said.

"What does it all mean?" Sabine asked. Their mother rose to her feet.

"This could be key to the war of the New World," she said. Her daughters looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked. Out of all the cycles they had been through, this hade never been brought up before. Hecate slowly shook her head.

"Where did this element come from?" she asked. "We've never had anything like this before." There was a gleam in her mother's eye.

"Oh, but my dear child," Allison said. "We haven't." She held out her arms in a cross position. "Welcome to the new round to this game!" Her laughter circled the room.

* * *

No one is home up there.

They put a wrath of laurel on his head. Is he… smiling? A young nightcomer looked at him with her head tilted.

"Hello?" she asked. No response. She shrugged her shoulders and joined her sisters. Sounds circled his ears. But he doesn't stir. It's all gone. They took him over.

Across the room, Lucy watched the broken Englishman. She shook her head. Maybe they shouldn't have broken him like that. Nah, it had to be done. Lucy looked out the window. So this was it, huh? Oh well.

Someone jumped next to her.

"Ello!" a blonde-haired nightcomer said. Lucy gave her a forced smile.

"Tessa," she said. Her sister tilted her head.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Wrong?" Lucy asked. "Of course not." Tessa pouted.

"Arthur's not fun anymore," she complained. Her sister looked over at him. His eyes looked so empty. A fly landed on his cheek but he didn't move. The insect moved around on the skin around in a circle before flying away. Lucy just shrugged.

"It happens," she said.

"When will he wake up?"

"Soon."

Tessa pouted. "I hope he wakes up in time for our dance." Her sister patted her on the head.

"He will, don't worry," Lucy said. The younger sister perked up.

"I can't wait for him to see my dress," Tessa said. "I really want to make him my husband!" Her sister made herself smile and nod. She turned back to the window.

* * *

The outside couldn't reach him. They cut him off. But his friends still tried to reach him. They couldn't call him. Lucy put his cell phone out of use. She then went around and disconnected all of the phones. She and her sisters even cut him off from the internet. (They didn't disconnect that all the way. Allison insisted that they would need it for back-up.) Arthur's friends tried to go as far as to visit their friend. But the nightcomers keep chasing them off. Three days ago, Alfred tried to visit Arthur but Sabine slammed the door in his face. She waited until the American man walked away.

"You aren't allowed any visitors," she whispered in the captive Englishman's ear. Sabine pulled away and patted him on the head. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

He might not be fully gone though.

Visions danced around in his head. He could see people. He saw them walking around on the street. Their chattered buzzed around in his ears. Some were getting ready for work. Moms got their kids ready for school. Some tended to their babies. Dads took their kids out to play in the park. He could see parents walking out the door for the workday. They got on the trains. They drove down the streets. Office workers sat down at their desks filling out paperwork. Some sat at their computers typing away. They gossip around the water cooler. They make copies on the copy machine. Their bosses hold meetings in conference rooms. Meanwhiles, the teachers were beginning class. Students sat at their desks with their minds in different directions. He saw people walking around, living normal lives.

But then they dropped down and died. The streets were covered in blood. Bodies twitched on the ground with empty eyes. Hazes of red floated above them. England became silent. Not even the crows and ravens sang out. All life just ceased.

He can't do anything about it. He knew it was coming. All he could do was just sit back and watch the world burn.

* * *

The whole time, Allison had her eyes on China. Last night, new visions came to life. There would be a battle after the world burned. Two warriors would rise to fight each other to the death. One would outshine the sun with gold. The other had one white wing and one black wing. Which side was each man on? Those lines were still blurred. But Allison could not take her eyes off of the man in gold. She couldn't really see the look on his face. That didn't stop him from commanding her attention.

Allison put up her hands.

"Yes!" she shouted. The supreme smiled to herself. This man wasn't born yet. She didn't even know what he would look like. But, Allison had only man clue to find that golden warrior.

By morning, she would make arrangements to go to China.

* * *

-Beijing, China-

Little Bean kicked at Ju's stomach. Their mother put her hand to her stomach.

"Easy there," she said. "What's the matter?" Ju sat back in her chair and sighed. She looked up at the ceiling and shook her head.


	5. Verboten

Match Five: Verboten:

He just sits there silent in his bed. Gilbert can't check him out of the hospital yet. Ludwig hadn't shown much improvement since he woke up. Feliciano didn't know how to handle it.

"What's the matter with Ludwig?" he whimpered to the doctor. The older man took off his glasses and shook his head.

"I don't know what to tell you," the doctor said. "He doesn't respond to anything around him. We ran the tests and everything comes up normal." Feliciano started trembling.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" he asked.

"We don't know," the doctor told him. "We will keep him for observation." The Italian man's heart sank.

_It's happening again._

Feliciano put his hand to his chest and wandered down the hall.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" a nurse asked as she walked out of Ludwig's room. The doctor put his hand on her shoulder.

"No," he said. "I have seen that look before. They never do get over it so easily. That one definitely won't." Meanwhile, Ludwig sat in his bed, motionless. He could hear everything outside his door.

* * *

Gilbert sat alone in his kitchen. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I don't understand it," the Prussian man complained. Ludwig was doing so much better when he woke up. Now, he won't respond. He didn't look like he recognized anyone at all. The doctors couldn't figure it out.

"I thought he was better," Gilbert complained. "Why is he like this?"

"He is still trapped," an old woman answered. The Prussian man looked up. That old lady stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The old mystical woman walked into the kitchen and took a seat in front of him.

"I did free him," she said. "But his soul is still trapped in Limbo."

"How did that happen? Why did this happen? Can't you get him out?" Gilbert asked. The old lady shook her head.

"I can't get him out," she said. "He will have to get out himself."

"Why? How did he get stuck in Limbo? Why did he get stuck there?" he asked. She took him by the hands.

"There are many reasons why he is trapped," the old lady said. "I am still trying pin down Ludwig's exact reason. Whoever trapped him in that coma put a strong curse on him."

"A curse?" the Prussian man asked as the color drained from his face.

"I'm so sorry, dear," the old woman said.

"No…" Gilbert murmured. His hands started to tremble.

* * *

Feliciano would not let up. He came by to visit Ludwig.

"Hello, Germany!" the Italian man would greet him. No response. He walked over to the bed. Ludwig stared out the window. It's been two weeks since he first woke up. Gilbert was the one who called him up.

"He's awake!" he said. Feliciano opened his eyes.

"What?!" he asked. "When did this happen?!"

"This morning," Gilbert said. That was all it took for the Italian man to run out the door. He had been waiting for months for this news to come. But hope turned into disappointment when he made it to the hospital.

Feliciano sat down on the bed. The German man's eyes had no soul in them. Nobody could reach him. He started to look as bad a Kiku. The Italian mand grabbed his hand.

"Germany! Please speak to me!" he pleaded. "Germany! Germany!" All of the shaking didn't help. Feliciano felt like crying again. It would usually take a nurse or a doctor to pull him away.

"Come on, you have to go," they would say. "Let him rest." Let him rest? How long would Ludwig stay like this?

"Can't you do anything?!" the Italian man said. The doctor sighed.

"We are trying our best," he said. That phrase can only last for so long. Yesterday, it hurt to hear that again. Feliciano spent the ride home, crying. Even Lovino tried to comfort him.

"You might have to let him go," the older Italian man told him last night. Feliciano stared at him with teary eyes. He didn't want to think about that.

"I can't take this anymore," Feliciano said over the phone this morning. "I can't snap him out of it."

"I know," Gilbert said on the other line. "We will have to wait until he comes back."

"But when will that be?" the Italian man asked.

"I don't know," the Prussian man said. Those words alone stung. Feliciano shook his head.

"No…" he murmured.

"I am so sorry," Gilbert said. The Italian man sank to his knees, crying.  _Why does my heart hurt so much?_  The tears wouldn't stop flowing.

* * *

So cold.

Ludwig's eyes looked around. Darkness felt crushing. He could barely breathe. The German man looked over to his left. Howling sent a shiver up his spine. He tried to reach out for anyone, anything to latch onto. Nothing.

Where… Where am I?

The howling made his ears burn. Ludwig quickly covered them. His eyes began to water. A pair tiny hands pushed him on his back. The German man lost his balance and tumbled over. It felt like knives going into his back. He tried to scream in pain but no sound came out. The howling turned into laughter. Ludwig kept falling into the endless black. His body felt so cold.

Please let me go. Please let me go! I want to go home.

And where is that?

Ludwig looked up. I… I… I don't know. He huddled up into a ball as he fell further. Howling started going round and round. The German man's body numb as he kept reaching the bottom.

Then it all stopped.

Ludwig opened his dull blue eyes. A pale white hand reached out to him. The red nails made him panic. He quickly shook his head.

No. No. Stay away! No!

Don't you want to go back?

The German man went silent. The nails were inches away from him now. The tips made his skin turn cold. Ludwig didn't try to move.

It's okay. Don't be afraid. Let me take you. I will take you home.

Why would you do that? Who are you? Where are we? He would never get his answers. The nails tapped him on the arm. His vision turned white. The howling started to die down. Ludwig found himself at peace. Every thought in his head went quiet. And then, his body faded away.

* * *

Back at the hospital, Ludwig's right pinky finger started to twitch. Feliciano looked down and noticed his dear friend's hand.

"Germany? Germany?" he asked. The Italian man ran to the door.

"Nurse! Nurse! Come quickly! He moved his finger! He moved his finger!" he yelled. Feliciano ran out of the room, failing his arms up and down.


	6. Samodiva

Match Six: Samodiva:

They made her into a monster.

Subject One was kept chained up in the lab. She still needed work done on her. Alisa flashed a light in her eyes. She had never seen eyes so gold before in her life. Ivan watched from outside of the room. Time was running against them. That seventh gate would be opened in Ikebukuro. Tandeki was still far ahead. They had cracked half of the Dis Program. This creature would be the only chance for them to catch up.

"How is she today?" Ivan asked over the mic.

"Good," Alisa said. "Not much change." She lowered her flashlight, frowning. The scientist turned to see Ivan sharing the same expression on her face. What were they missing?

Meanwhile, the test subject can understand what they are saying. She could still speak her native tongue. However, she does not eat. She doesn't drink either. No sleeping or using the bathroom. She sits chained up in the lab. Her glare and grin gave the scientists the creeps. So far, nothing had changed.

The last eight days showed nothing exciting.

Day Nine

Her eyes glowed in the dark. Karp came in to monitor the test subject. He shivered as she watched him from behind the glass. The scientist sat down at the booth and turned on the recording. There was a new sound file on the computer.

"Hm?" he asked. Karp clicked on the file. At first, he heard white noise coming through the tapes. He hadn't expected much like the past eight days. Karp tried to fight off sleep.

"Vodka."

Karp about jumped in his seat. He rewound back the tape.

"Vodka." The voice sounded like a raspy whisper. Almost like an old woman sounding young. Karp slowly looked up at the glass wall in front of him. The test subject looked up at him with a drunk-like smirk on her face. Was this pale and skinny creature hitting him up for vodka? Karp noticed her lips moving again.

"Vodka."

He jumped to attention. Why would this creature want vodka? Her glowing eyes told him that he didn't have any choice.

"Right…" Karp said over the mic. He slowly backed out of the room. One trip later, he returned with a bottle of vodka. She lifted her head. Her eyes could cut through his soul. Karp looked around at first. What was he doing? He was the only one here on the morning shift. The scientist swiped his card the door. The test subject turned her head as the door opened. Karp opened the bottle as he walked over to her. She looked like a hungry animal as she tilted back her head.

"Okay," Karp said. "This is all you are getting." He poured vodka down her throat. She didn't even make a sound as she drank. The test creature leaned her head back against the wall. Her cheeks turned a light red. Karp drew back the bottle.

"Interesting," he said. The scientist walked out of the room while making a note in his phone. Her eyes started to glaze over from the vodka.

* * *

Day Ten

She drinks nothing but vodka. But she doesn't get drunk. Adrik flashed his light in her eyes. The test subject didn't look so skinny anymore. She still doesn't talk, eat, use the bathroom, or sleep. Fyodor allowed the test subject to drink her vodka. Adrik took down his notes.

"Good," he muttered. "Still alive." Adrik's eyes trailed down the test subject's body. Where did all of these red curved marks come from? They started forming since last night. At first, they were on her left shoulder. Now, it had spread down her arm and across to her right shoulder. They didn't look painful to the creature.

"What is all of this?" Adrik asked. He took her by the shoulder and looked at her back. No sooner had he touched her; his body felt cold. His stomach turned. Adrik could see his own breath. He looked down to see the test subject smiling at him like a drunk cat.

"W-W-What is this?" Adrik asked. He quickly drew back his hand, panting. The test subject stared up at him with glowing eyes. The scientist shook his head.

"You will not get to me," he hissed. "I am man. You are just a creature we created. You will not rule me!" She looked at him with deep glowing gold brown eyes and only said one thing.

"Vodka."

Adrik curled his nose and walked out of the room. What did they create?

* * *

Day Eleven

She smelt like flowers trying to cover up rotting fish. Time was running out. Two of Tandeki's interns had already found the seventh gate. The nightcomers would open the gates in two days' time. Once the seventh gate was opened, the next round of the game would begin. They needed to have this countermeasure ready before that happened.

Ivan lifted the test subject by the chin. They had started to see what she would consume besides vodka. The test subject drank so much that the crew had to go out and buy more on a Ivan wrinkled his nose.

She wouldn't eat vegetables. She wouldn't take milk. She won't take wheat. But meat…

Ivan looked down at the untouched pieces of cooked meat on the white tiled floor. The raw meat only had bite in it. Ivan forced open the test subject's mouth. The teeth used to look so rotted and black. Now they grew into white polished fangs. How did Ivan really feel about this?

To him, the game meant nothing. She meant nothing to him.

"Heh," Ivan said. He let go of her face. The Russian man was not fazed by her. She looked up at him with a smirk like a cat. Ivan wrinkled his nose. This was a dumb plan. He didn't think they would take him seriously. But then again, they wanted to win this stupid game. He gave up trying to talk them out of it.

The test subject started to look more different each day. The red markings spread all over her body. She didn't look so much like a dying corpse anymore. Ivan grabbed her by her now long dark red hair and lifted her head. That drunk smile would make him sick. Ivan let go of her hair. She spoke again.

"Vodka."

"No," Ivan said. A hint of anger flashed in her eyes. He did not look fazed. She may have scared his colleagues but it would not work on. The test subject would not be ready in time. This would not work anyway.

Still, they had to keep up with Project Drioma.

* * *

Day Twelve

Alisa stood in awe. Their test subject was turning beautiful. And all so quickly too. She resisted the urge to touch her.

The markings on the body looked like a bright red tattoo. She started to look curvier. The test subject's long dark red hair covered her naked breasts. She still drank enough vodka to put all of Russia in a coma. The test subject started to eat more of the raw meat. She still didn't eat or drink anything else. Talking, sleeping, or using the bathroom didn't come to her. Still, they had their own weapon to counter the tadpoles. Her body was still in development but it would be finished soon. They hadn't even seen what her power would look like when she evolved. By then, she would be even more beautiful than ever. Soon, there would be the testing after the seventh gate was opened.

Alisa had to take a breath. The excitement was much better than the ones she spent with her lover. Fyodor would be so proud of their project. She could see it now.

They had one more day.

* * *

Day in Red

The gate was opened last night. She stood in that white room for first time. All of the shackles fell away from her body. Great dark red wings spread out from her marked back. A twisted smirk came onto her face.

She finally spoke her new name.

"I am Valya."


	7. Silverpilen

Match Seven: Silverpilen:

-Irene-

My name is Irene Berntsen. I am a journalist for supernatural magazine in Sweden. I am tasked with finding everything weird and spooky around the country. Usually, it's quiet around Stockholm. But lately, something hasn't been right.

Now, I don't know if the things I write about are real or not. I just needed the money. I wanted to be on TV when I was younger. That dream turned into a dream career for journalist. Then through turns of fate, I ended up here. It's not great but it's not bad either. I could do so much better.

That was until last night.

I had a late night at the office. One of the writers called in sick three days ago. I had to do double duty. I didn't complain. Heck, this could be the opportunity that I was looking for. But after three days of writing the same ghost story, I am bored. I tired not to fall asleep when someone slammed their hand my desk. I about jumped in place.

"I'm not asleep!" I lied. I froze and looked up to see a beautiful man looking down at me, shaking his head. I paused, blushing.

"Oh, it's you," I said.

"You should go home and get some rest," my manager said. I shook my head.

"I am fine, Lars," I insisted. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"You don't look fine," he said. I rolled my eyes and sat back in my desk chair. I could feel his eyes locked on me.

"Don't look at me like that," I said.

"Irene," Lars said. "Just go home. You look like you are about to pass out any time now." I frowned and rolled my eyes.

"You won't let up, will you?" I asked.

"No," Lars said, shaking his head. I frowned as I wrinkled my nose. I pushed my bangs from my eyes.

"Whatever," I muttered. "You can be so annoying sometimes." Lars did that little smile that made me want to reach up and choke him as he shrugged.

"I am only looking out for you," he said. Where have I heard that one before? I can take care of myself. So annoying.

* * *

"Good night," I called out as I walked out of the building.

"Take care," the janitor said. I had turned to walk away when someone called my name. I looked up to see Lars running towards me. I put my hands on my hips.

"What?" I asked. Lars leaned against the glass door.

"How are you getting home tonight?" he asked. I gave him an odd look.

"Why?" I asked. Lars shuffled his feet for a moment before having a sheepish look on his face.

"What?" I asked again. "Speak! Why do you need to know how I am getting home?" Lars had a serious look on his face.

"Don't take the trains tonight," he said.

"Why not?" I asked. "It's the only way I can get home."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you still have time. Just don't try to get on any trains past midnight."

"What are you talking about? Why can't I take the trains after midnight?"

Lars walked over to me and grabbed me by the hands. "Just… please be careful." I stood there with a blank stare on my face.

"Okay…" I mumbled. He let go of my hands.

"Be careful and good night," Lars told me. He walked back into the building. I slowly waved my hand.

"Okay… Good night…" I said. I turned and walked out into the city.

* * *

On my way home, I stop at a local café to pick up a pastry and coffee. I walked up to the glass doors. Good, they are still open. I pushed open the door and walked inside. The man behind the counter looked up.

"Ah, Irene!" he said. "So good to see you again. How have you been?"

"Good," I said. "And you?"

"Great like always," the barista said. "Your usual?"

"Yes, please," I said. He rang up my order.

"That will be 4.61 Euros," the barista said. I made my purchase. My friend took the money and handed back my change.

"No, keep the change," I said. He kind of looked at me.

"You sure?" the barista asked.

"Yes," I said. Why do we always do this? He knows that I won't take the change. Yet, this boy tries to give it to me. I don't know why I don't stop him before we do this dumb ritual.

"Okay," he said. My friend put the change in the cash register.

"Thank you," I said. The barista made my coffee and got my pastry. I sat down near the window and started eating. This was my moment. Don't get me wrong. I like my job. But sometimes I just have to get away. I just want at least ten minutes in reality. If getting fat is the price, then I will take it.

But suddenly, I paused.

You ever get the feeling being watched? I didn't want to turn around. But I couldn't escape a pair of eyes off my back. I kind of glanced behind me. There was a man about my age or a bit older sat three tables away from me. He had his coffee on his table and kept staring at me. He didn't have any emotion his face. His uniform did little to put me at ease. I think he noticed me looking back at him because he looked me straight into the eye. I turned my back to him and finished with my treats as fast as I could. Once I was done, I bolted out the door.

"Irene!" I heard the barista shouted at me. The glass door swung closed.

* * *

I kept my head down as I walked to the train station. Don't make any eye contact. I hoped that strange man in the café wasn't following. He looked like he was secret police. I shivered as I tried not to think about it. Just get home, take a bath, and go to bed. I took out my phone. Twenty minutes until midnight. Shit. I got so spooked that I lost track of time. I think I can make it before the last train pulls out. If not, I will have to stay in a hotel for the night. I didn't even pack an overnight bag. Please let me get there in time! Please let me get there in time!

I ran all the way to the train station. By the time I got inside, the place looked deserted. I looked at my phone. Seven more minutes until midnight. Damn it, the last train left ten minutes ago. Now what? I pulled out my phone again. My sister and brother-in-law would be sound asleep by now. Same with most of my friends. I can't call Lars to come and pick me up. Shit.

Suddenly, the air got colder. I mean like I was standing in Greenland in my underwear cold. But it was summer. Plus, most of the workers in the train station had gone home already. I grabbed my arms to stay warm. Then, I heard a train whistle in the distance.

Hm?

I lifted my head to see a train slowly pulling down the tracks. Boy, was I happy to see it! However, something about this train looked a little bit… off… There was no logo or different colors on the cars. No, this train was all silver. Wait, was that… singing?

The train pulled to a stop and opened the doors for me. I don't really remember what happened in those short seconds of time. The next thing I knew, I was walking towards it in a trance. It was like my body was moving on its own. I couldn't stop walking through the doors.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me by the wrist.

I whipped around to see that tall blonde man I saw in the café earlier. He looked way scarier close-up. The dead eyes made me want to take off running in any direction to get away from him. I began to panic.

"Let me go!" I screamed as I tried to fight him off. He would not let up no matter how hard I hit him. I really panicked as he started to drag me away from the waiting train. No, no, no! I do not want to me kidnapped. I don't want to be sold into human trafficking. What if he was going to violate and kill me? I had to get away. I had to get away!

I looked up when I heard the doors close. The strange looking train was pulling away. Disappointment washed over my face.

"Why did you do that for?!" I wailed. "You made me miss my train! What the hell is wrong with you?! How am I going to get home now?"

"I just saved your life," he said in a monotone voice. I gave him a blank stare.

"What?" I asked. This man pointed at the empty train tracks as the whistle blew in the distance.

"That was a Silverpilen," he said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Ghost train," the man said. "If you hadn't gotten on, you would never be seen again." I didn't know whether to believe him or not. How would he know about the Silverpilen and that I would be getting on? Had he been stalking me? Then again, why would a train be coming after midnight?

"Uh… thanks, I guess," I said. The man pulled out his phone.

"I am going to call you a cab," he said. I didn't try to argue with him at this point. He did save me, albeit in a creepy way. I still had my questions, though. The call didn't last long. The man took my wrist and pulled me out of the train station.

"The cab will be here in twenty minutes," he told me. I blinked for a moment.

"I don't get it," I said. He didn't make eye contact.

"Get what?" the man asked.

"Why are you doing all of this?" I asked. "How did you know where I was going? Why did you save me? You don't really know me. I don't even know your name."

"Berwald," he said.

"Huh?" I asked. The man finally looked up at me.

"My name is Berwald," he said again.

"Oh…" I muttered. That was all I was going to get out of him from the rest of the night.

The wait for the taxi about took twenty minutes. We didn't speak anymore. He wouldn't even look at me. I only glanced at him, trying to figure him out. What was the point? My questions won't get answered anyway. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I just want to go home.

I got my wish when the taxi finally pulled up. I climbed into the back. Berwald paid my fare and saw me off. He just stood there and watched as the cab pulled away. I slumped down in the back seat and rubbed my forehead. When I got home, I took a bath and went to bed. What was that? Who was Berwald? Why did he save me? Was he stalking me?

I had the feeling that wasn't going to be the last time I saw him.


	8. Dreams, Pipeline, and Promise

Match Eight: Dreams, Pipeline, and Promise:

-Ju-

I am six months pregnant now.

I am starting have strange dreams again. But these were different. I always woke up with a sense of foreboding. My heart always felt so heavy.

"Is something wrong?" Yao asked. I shook my head. How do I explain this?

"Nothing," I lied. "It's just pregnancy stress." He never questioned it. I know that I shouldn't do this again. But how do I tell him the truth? "Honey, I am starting to have weird dreams again. They are just that weird."

Last night was no different.

Howling winds hurt my ears. Think of a dog whistle blowing right next to you repeatedly. It's so dark around me too. I held out my hand but I couldn't see it. The cold stung at my skin. My lungs ached as I walked. But I was not alone.

I slowly turned my head.

"Who's there?" I asked. No one ever answered. But I wasn't alone. I didn't know what they were or what they wanted. They didn't try to do anything to me. Instead, they just watch me.

I had no choice but to keep walking. Where could I go? I didn't know how I got there in the first place. Even Little Bean was still inside of me. I worried that they might be dead. I pressed my hand to my stomach.

My feet started to hurt. Almost like walking on spikes. I think I might have left bloody footprints in my wake. I just held my stomach, trying to wake up my child.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of steel striking against each other.

I turned and looked ahead of me. A small speck of red started to form in the sky. What was that? I walked towards it without a thought in my head. The howling of the winds had suddenly stopped when that light appeared. My feet stopped hurting too. The wind changed to that steel striking each other.

Wait, what was that?

I had to walk and find out. The sound got louder above my head. It was then I noticed that the ground got harder. Almost like rock and soil. The sudden change of temperature in the air about made me fall over. The heat stung my face. I could barely see anything. It felt like my eyes were swollen shut. The whole time, Little Bean did not respond. Were they still alive?

Suddenly, the heat turned itself down. I lowered my hand and opened my eyes. A desert landscape awaited me. Brown and red as far as the eye could see. I stopped just at edge that dipped downwards. When I looked down, I got a good look down at the source below.

The people looked like ants below. They looked to be making something. I had to walk down for a look. It was not easy to walk through sand in real life. Imagine it up to your waist. Yes, it was that bad. The sounds grew louder as I got closer. I began to see what the people were doing.

It looks like a pipeline.

People were working on a giant pipeline that led across the desert. Their sledgehammers beat against the fresh steel. The more I watched, the more questions I had. What were they building this pipeline for? What would it connect to? Who wanted this created?

I couldn't stop walking closer to the pipeline. I could hear the steel calling to me. Its voice sounded like singing. I walked further down the sandy hill. The workers could not see me. Some of them collapsed from exhaustion while they worked on the pipeline. I didn't think they would get back up again. The remaining workers stepped over the bodies to keep working. A pang of sadness filled my chest just watching.

Suddenly, someone or something grabbed me by the wrist. I whipped my head around.

"What?" I asked.

I felt a sharp kick in my stomach. I about jumped at the sensation. Little Bean! Another kick came to my stomach. They were still alive?

The force started to drag me up the sand hill. The pipe shrank out of view. I could still hear it calling me.

Suddenly, I rose in the sky. Wait, where was I going? Then I heard a soft whisper in my ears.

"Don't go down there."

I turned my head. There was no one there. Yet, they were still speaking to me.

"You can't go down there. They need you. I need you." That last part sounded like a child. My body went limp. Well okay, then. I will not go down there. I just let the unseen force take me away.

And then I woke up.

* * *

-Reality-

I sat up in my bed the next morning. My room looked the same as it always did. I could feel Little Bean kicking again. I moved my hand to my stomach. Glad to see they are still okay.

"Oh, you're up," I heard Yao say. I looked and saw him at my full-length mirror.

"Uh-huh," I said.

"Sleep well?" he asked. I paused. I still couldn't tell him the truth. I couldn't make out that pipeline myself.

"Actually… I have been having dreams again," I admitted. Yao walked over to our bed.

"Ju…" he said. I shook my head.

"I will be okay," I said. "There are other things we have to worry about."

"But…" Yao said. I gently took him by the face.

"I will be fine," I said. "Things will get better when we have Junjie and Jianjun rightfully punished." My husband stared at me. I dropped my shoulders.

"What do I have to do to prove it to you?" I asked. Yao kissed me on the forehead.

"Take a rest today," he told me. I stared at him with big eyes.

"You can't be serious," I said.

"I am, my dearest," he said. I frowned.

"Oh come on," I whimpered. "You keep cutting me off from everything."

"You need to rest," Yao insisted. "We have three more months left. I am putting you on maternity leave right now. Do not argue with me, please." I frowned as I puffed up my cheeks.

"Fine," I grumbled. "Can I at least read over paperwork in bed?"

"No," he said.

"Please?" I asked.

"Maybe later," my husband said. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and walked over to the wardrobe. I groaned as I flopped back onto our bed. I can't this anymore.

"Ass," I muttered to myself.

"You say something, dearest?" I heard Yao ask. I didn't answer.


	9. Lebanon Cedar

Match Nine: Lebanon Cedar:

Two weeks in and the marks on Florence's skin got darker. Alfred took her straight to the doctor on the first night. He sat across the room unable to sit still. The American man could feel himself shaking.  _No_ , he told himself.  _The hero is no supposed to act scared. I have to be strong for Florence._  Florence looked so calm as the doctor looked at her neck.

"How long have you had this?" he asked her.

"About three days now," she said. Alfred lifted his head.  _What? What did she say?_

"Does it hurt?" the doctor asked. Florence shook her head.

"I see," he said. "How are your other symptoms? Are you still feeling tired? Have you been eating? Any illness?"

"I still don't want to get out of bed at times," Florence said. "I haven't been hungry. I haven't been sick though."

"I see," the doctor said. "Does Lydia know about this?"

"Not yet," Florence said. "She's went out west to find some friends of her parents." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really? Who's been staying with you?" he asked. Florence pointed over at Alfred. The doctor turned to him. The American man sat there, dumbfounded. She hadn't shared any of this with him. Why would she not say anything? The doctor walked over to him.

"Were you aware of any of this?" he asked.

"No…" Alfred said sheepishly. The doctor frowned.

"Do you have Lydia's number?" he asked.

"Sure, hang on," the American man said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Alfred scrolled through the numbers until he found hers. He instantly dialed up her number.

"It's ringing," he said. The doctor waited with his arms folded across his chest. Florence looked up at the men on the other side of the room. Alfred lowered his phone.

"She's not picking up," he said.

"Try again," the doctor said. "If she doesn't answer, leave a message."

"Okay," Alfred said. He dialed Lydia's number again and waited. Florence and the doctor had their eyes on him.

"Hey, it's me," Lydia's voicemail said. "I am not available right now. Leave a message and I might get back to you. Maybe." The American man frowned when he heard the beep.

"Hey, Lydia," he said. "This is Alfred. Please call back. It's really important. There's something wrong with Florence. Call me back ASAP!" The American man took a breath as he hung up.

"How was that?" he asked.

"Fine," the doctor said.

"Now what?" Alfred asked.

"We wait," he said.

"Oh…" the American man mumbled.

* * *

"Why did you tell me about the marks on your neck?" Alfred asked Florence once they left the doctor's office. She shook her head.

"Why?" he asked again.

"I didn't want to upset you," she admitted. Alfred struggled to speak at first.

"What?" he asked at last. She looked up at him.

"I know more than Lydia wants me to know," the tree spirit confessed. "I do not have long to live. The thought doesn't really scare me but Lydia…" She shook her head. "I don't think she can handle it. Lydia probably won't know what to do after I am gone."

"And you thought that not telling us would help?" Alfred asked. He grabbed her by the wrists. "I want to help you but I can't do that if you won't tell me the truth."

"Alfred," Florence said. "I don't think you can help me."

"I want to try," he said. She gave him a sympathetic smile. How could she be some calm? Alfred felt himself trembling.

"You can't do this me," he said. "We can't keep secrets from each other. You have to let me in!" He started shaking as tears filled his eyes.

"I never know what you are thinking. I can't tell if we are close or not. You won't even talk to me about that night," he lamented. "I don't even know how you feel about me." Florence looked him in the eye.

"You love me, right?" she asked.

"Yes!" the American man shouted. He tried to ignore two college-aged boys walking passed them across the street. They had pulled to a standstill, staring at them.

"What?!" Alfred shouted. "There's nothing to see here! Move it along! Go on, shoo!" The men hurried away, silent. Alfred puffed up his cheeks. Florence didn't say a word the whole time. The American man gritted his teeth.

"Say something," he pleaded. Her silence made things worse.

"I understand," she said at last. Alfred's face dropped.

"What?" he asked.

"We can talk about this later," Florence said in a low voice.

"Will we though?" Alfred asked. Florence looked at him with no emotion on her face. He groaned and threw back his head.

"I can't do this anymore," he said. "Please don't leave me hanging like this."

"Hanging?" she asked.

"Look, I love you!" he said. "I don't know how to spell it out for you. I keep telling you but I don't think it's sticking! You told me that I was one of your favorite people."

"Yes," Florence said.

"What does that mean?" Alfred asked.

"I really like you."

"In what way?" He braced himself for the answer. But she said nothing. Alfred let go of her hands.

"Just forget," he muttered.

"Alfred?" Florence asked as he turned and walked away. She had to run to keep up with him. The American man couldn't even look at her.

* * *

Florence's feelings towards him wasn't the only problem he had to deal with.

Lydia had gone missing since she left town to meet up with an old friend of her parents'. Alfred and the doctor couldn't get hold of her. The American man hadn't noticed until the doctor brought it up this morning.

"Hey Florence," Alfred asked over his shoulder.

"Hm?" she asked.

"Have you heard from Lydia lately?" he asked.

"No, I have not," Florence said. "Why do you ask?"

"Hm…" the American man said. When he took her home, Alfred pulled out his phone and made another call. Once again, Lydia's phone went to voicemail. The American man took a heavy breath.

"Lydia," he said. "How have you been? We haven't heard from you in weeks. Call me back, dude. Florence needs you. Bye-bye." Alfred hung up and sighed. She didn't tell him where she was going. He thought that she was going be gone for a couple of weeks. Lydia was supposed to be due back by now. No one else knew where she went either.

Alfred looked up at the living room and sighed.

"Now what?" he asked.

* * *

Lydia still didn't pick up her phone. Alfred and the doctor still kept trying to call her.

"Do you know the number of this family friend?" the doctor asked.

"No," the American man admitted. "She didn't really give me much detail of what she was doing." That was all that the doctor needed to hear.

"I'm going to call the police," he said.

"Whoa! Is that necessary?" Alfred asked.

"Yes!" the doctor said. "I do not have a good feeling about this. Something might have happened to her." Alfred couldn't argue there.

"Let's file a report together," he said.

"I'll go get my jacket," the doctor said. Both men handed out to the police station.

Three weeks later, there was a knock on Florence's front door. Alfred sat up from the couch he was napping.

"Coming!" he shouted. The American man hurried to the door. He looked out the peep hole. Alfred's jaw dropped.

"Lydia?" he asked as he opened the door. The young woman looked up at him. She looked so pale and didn't speak. She looked like she had lost so much weight. Her clothes hung from her skinny frame. Lydia looked like she was ready to cry.

"Lydia?" Alfred asked again. "What's wrong?" She didn't answer him. The young woman gripped her by the right arm. Her whole body started to tremble. She lowered her eyes and ran into the house.

"Lydia? Lydia?" he asked. The American man followed after her.


	10. Sekai no Owari

Match Ten: Sekai no Owari:

-Sena-

I hate the silence.

Something is not right. I noticed it as I walked home. The streets felt so empty. There weren't many people walking around like usual. I have tried not to notice it. But I can't tune it out anymore. I gritted my teeth.

"Why is it so damn quiet?" I muttered to myself under my breath.

"I'm still here," I heard someone whisper. I turned my head. There was no one there. I narrowed my eyes and frowned. Oh yeah, there is her. That reminds me, my neighborhood alone has gone strange.

I have three stories that happened this weekend alone.

The first one happened on a Friday. I was walking home from the hospital. (The nurse urged me to go outside for a change. "This is not good for you to be hanging around like this," she said. "Go outside. Get some fresh air." I couldn't explain the truth to her. She wouldn't understand. I need to be by my husband.)

For some reason, I took a shortcut through the woods near the park. I don't usually go there. But today, I just started walking. The silent in the woods started to grate on my nerves. I couldn't even hear the grass crunching at my sandals. That damned silence. I don't like it. I end up thinking about that bitch.

That bitch. I was content not thinking about her at all. I haven't spoken to her since I walked out of Grandma's house down in Okinawa.

I stopped and shook my head. That damned silence got me again. So much so that I didn't look at where I was. I frowned as I looked around. I found myself on what looked to be a campsite. A beat-up black tent was pitched off to the right. I could see through the other side with the big holes. A fire looked like it had just been put out. Trash and sleeping bags lay on the ground near the previous-mentioned fire pit. Was somebody out here? I would've chalked it up to a pair of homeless men camped out in the woods if not for what I saw next.

I happened to turn around and see several upon several trees covered in missing posters. Some looked worn out and dated. Others looked fresh. The oldest one was dated back in 1972. They were all gathered here in place. No particular reason. I glanced around as I held my breath. Do you ever get the feeling of being watched when you are alone?

"Hello?" I asked. Nothing but that damned silence again. Like hell I was going to stay there. I turned and walked out of there as fast as I could.

The next day, I went back to the woods. That place had to be a hallucination. It couldn't be real. I forced myself to see. I made it back to the place. No campsite. It didn't even look like anyone had even been staying there in the first place.

Those missing posters were still there. Some of them looked torn against those trees. Wait, were there more posters? I didn't stick around to count.

On Saturday, I went back to the hospital. I am starting to hate hospitals. It's like being in a tomb. The nurses don't really want to see me or be here. I would rather be at home with Kiku. But lately, things have gotten worse.

The silence followed me here. I stood in the hall, gritting my teeth. I keep thinking about that bitch again.

I was just her accessory. She never cared about me. She didn't even want to claim me. She wasn't even the main woman. That old witch made it even worse.

So much worse.

I lifted my head. I looked to my left and right. Where did everyone go?

"Hello?" I asked. I turned to Kiku's room. The door was still closed. I remembered there was a nurse tending to him. I knocked on the door. Nothing. Silence. I forced open the door and went inside. Uh… What the hell is this? Where is my husband? I looked around the room. Where did everyone go? And where did they take my husband?

I hurried down the hall. The silence was making my ears burn. Memories of that bitch came back into my head. She always tried to look pretty for him. He was never going to leave his wife. That old witch wouldn't let it be so. She controlled everything.

Suddenly, I wasn't alone.

When I turned my head, I saw a figure standing at the other end of the hall. I would say that it had to be a child, no older than eight.

"Hello?" I asked. The figure disappeared around the corner. I shouldn't be doing this. Oh no, I have seen too many horror movies to fall for that shit.

But then, I heard the door creak open across the hall. Wait, there was sound? I walked over to the room as if in a daze. There was no one inside the room. That was until I looked further into the right. An old woman lay in bed asleep with machines hooked up in her body. I think I have seen her before. The nurses say that her daughter is all the way in America. What do you know? There is someone else here. I was about to back out of the room when I happened to look up to the ceiling.

What… the…?

A giant black spider-like demon lingered over this lady. Red eyes covered its body. It had its mouth wide open too. Drool fell on the bed below. The webs covered the ceiling. Now, I am already not fond of spiders. But this…

That spider leaned down with that wide-open mouth. That hissing noise. So much worse than silence. That damned creature's head leaned down to the woman's sleeping form. A small hand grabbed onto my jeans. I looked down and saw a little girl in a white dress looking up at me. She looked so pale that I could see through her tiny body. I noticed her holding a white scythe. The child slowly pulled me away from the door. I tried to grab on the door frame but this little girl pulled me away. My grip slipped and the door swung closed. I tried to speak up but the girl shook her head. I turned back to the door.

"Honda-san?" I heard behind me. I turned around and saw a nurse standing inches from me. She had a puzzled look on her face.

"Are you feeling okay?" that nurse asked.

"Where did you go?" I asked.

"I was tending to another patient upstairs," she said like I had lost my mind. "Didn't the other nurse tell you?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "She didn't." Where did everyone go? When did they come back? That nurse blinked at me.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"No…" I said, shaking my head. I started backing away. Suddenly, the door to my husband's room opened. The nurse and I looked up to see a nurse peeking out.

"I'm done with taking care of Kiku," she said. She noticed the looks on our faces. "Oh… Is this a bad time?"

"No," I said again. I walked into Kiku's room past the nurse.

The old lady died later that night.

Sunday had it the worst. I keep seeing little reapers around this empty city. They all keep staring at me. The silence made me angrier. I was happy when the silence wasn't this bad. But now, something was not right.

I look behind me and think that I see her standing behind me, smirking. I only saw her face once. That was all that it took. She is holding my husband hostage. He's sick because of her. She's poisoning our home. Look at this city. It's all dead.

Suddenly, I froze. I slowly turned my head.

"Hello?" I whispered. I saw her eyes. She didn't even make a sound. That was the worst part. Her nails scrapped down my back. Not nails, but claws. I wanted to scream. But I couldn't move. If anyone walked by, they wouldn't see her. Kiku couldn't help me. I was on my own.

Then, that vile woman spoke. She said something that shook me to my core. Nothing had been the same ever since. In fact, it only got worse.

"You will truly know what a nightmare of god looks like."


	11. Shopping Trip

Match Eleven: Shopping Trip:

-Beijing, China-

-10:00 a.m.-

The plane touched in Beijing Capital International Airport. Foreigners and businessmen departed to their next destination. Allison blended in with the crowd. She could feel the golden warrior in this country. Her one clue was that he wasn't born yet. The airport had a good number of pregnant women waiting and travelling here. Plus, there would more in the city alone. She had to respect China for relaxing on the one-child policy thing.

Allison went through baggage claim with no problems.

"Reason for visit?" the lady at customs asked.

"Vacation," Allison said.

"How long do you plan to stay?" the other woman asked.

"The weekend," the nightcomer said. "I have access to my bank account." She handed over her passport and paperwork. The lady at customs read over everything before stamping all the places needed.

"Enjoy your stay here," she said.

"Thank you," Allison said. She collected up her things and walked away the counter. As she gathered up her luggage, the nightcomer kept her eyes on every pregnant woman walking by. She could even sense the babies conceived to mothers who didn't know they even existed yet. All Allison had to do was listen.

* * *

"What all do we need for dinner today?" Yao asked outside the house. Ju took a minute to think.

"Let's see… Beef, pork, cabbage, carrots, ginger roots, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, and lime," she said. But then, she looked confused. "Lime?"

"That's right," Yao said. His wife tilted her head.

"Why?" she asked. He smiled and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I just wanted to try something different tonight," Yao said.

"With lime?" Ju asked.

"Yes," he said. He saw the puzzled look on her face.

"Come on," Yao insisted. "You might like it. They might like it too." He pointed down to Little Bean. His wife put her hand on her stomach.

"You promise?" she asked.

"Yes," he insisted. Ju gave him a little smile.

"Alright," she said. Yao held her hand.

"Shall we go?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. The soon-to-be parents started out on their shopping trip.

* * *

When was the last she was in an outdoor market? It felt nice to be surrounded by people again. Ju thought that she was going to go crazy in that house.

"Thank you," she said. Yao looked over his shoulder.

"For what?" he asked.

"For giving me a chance to get out of the house," Ju said. "I thought I was going to end up rotting away on the couch." Her husband gave her a gentle smile.

"Happy that I could help," he said. Ju felt her cheeks turn bright red.

Allison wandered around the open market. The spices teased her nose. Reminded her of her time in East Asia in the seventies. It was a weird time then. Ah, but no time to get caught up in nostalgia. She had work to do. Allison took out her silver pendant heart necklace and held it out.

She could hear voices of the unborn around her. Allison didn't know exactly what she was looking for. She would know when she found it. Well while she was here, Allison could shop around for ingredients for spells. Chinese medicines could be useful after all.

* * *

Yao picked up a head of cabbage and examined. He smiled to his satisfaction.

"Should we get two or three heads?" he asked. Ju looked up with a confused look on her face.

"Hm?" she asked.

"Cabbage," her husband said. "How many heads do want—two or three?"

"Do we really need that many?" she asked.

"Sure," Yao said. "We should buy enough to cook for weeks." He noticed the look on her face. "Something wrong?" Ju looked up, frowning. She sighed before gathering up her thoughts together.

"I don't know what it is," she admitted. "But I keep having the following that someone is watching us." Yao gave her an odd look.

"Well of course," he said. "They have cameras in places like up there." Ju looked up at the CCTV cameras and shook her head.

"No, it's that," she said.

"What do you mean?" her husband asked. Ju rubbed her forehead.

"I don't know how to put this into words," she said. "I just don't know what is going on." Yao put his hand on her shoulder.

"I will go get you something to calm down," he said. "Come with me." Ju didn't know what to say as Yao dragged her along to another little shop on the strip.

* * *

Allison walked down the path of the shops. The herbal medicines made her nose burn. She would have to check them out later. Right now, the latest contender was calling to her. Allison held up her pendant. She saw little specks of light coming from the tea shop across the street.

"Hm, this is very interesting," she said to herself. So far, she had been seeing nothing. The specks looked rather cloudy through the pendant. Allison looked and saw Ju standing outside of the shop. She looked to be six months ago and so young. The nightcomer couldn't take her attention off of her for some reason. It was then she noticed Ju staring at her. Heh, might as well act now. Allison walked across the street to her.

"Hello," she greeted her, trying to sound polite. Ju gave her an odd look.

"Hi…" she said. The women didn't speak at first. The mother-to-be took a step back.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"October birth, huh?" Allison asked.

"I hope so," Ju said.

"Six months ago too."

"Yes…"

"Uh-huh." Allison leaned down to Ju's belly. The mother-to-be took another step back.

"Uh… excuse me, what are you doing?" she asked. The nightcomer looked up with a catlike grin.

"I see," she said. "You have a good breed."

"Huh?" Ju asked. Allison stood up, looking into her eyes.

"Your baby is really special," she added.

"Okay… Thank you, I guess…" Ju said. Allison quickly grabbed her by the hands.

"You don't seem to understand," she said. "Your child will be the warrior in the new world. He shall fight against the white warrior. He will bring the new world to the dying world! Your son will be our messiah!" By now, the mother-to-be started freaking out. Ju tried pull away from her grasp.

"Look lady, I don't know who you are!" she shouted. "What the hell are you talking about?! My child is not some savior in your delusion. I don't even know if it's going to be a boy or a girl! Get away from me!" Ju pushed her away as hard as she could. The nightcomer only stood there, smirking.

"I understand. You just don't see the truth yet. But you will in due time," was all she said. Ju was just about to take off running when the door behind her opened. Yao came up with boxes of tea.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"God, yes!" Ju shouted as she ran over to her husband. Yao gave her a confused look.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No" his wife was quick to say. She pushed him along the way to the opposite direction.

"Whoa! What's going on? Slow down!" Yao shouted. Allison just stood there, smiling.

"We'll be in touch later," she said. The nightcomer waved as the couple hurried away faster. Allison turned and finished up her shopping.


	12. Dinner Party

Match Twelve: Dinner Party:

-July 23rd, 1988-

Khai had to build a lasting bond between the three couples. The one sure way would be to throw a dinner party. Hen-to and Fei had their suspicions at first.

"A dinner party, sir?" Hen-to asked. "Pardon me for asking, but why?" Khai smiled as he put his arm around his advisor.

"Hen-to, buddy," he said. "Why do you sound like you think that I am plotting something?" His advisor narrowed his eyes but did not speak.

"Who all is invited?" he asked instead.

"You, Fei, your girlfriends, Daiyu, and me," Khai said, causally. Hen-to raised his eyebrow.

"Are you sure she would be up for that?" he asked.

"I'll let her stay out as long as she wants," his boss said. "We won't be staying up too long." His advisor shrugged and stepped back.

"Whatever," he muttered. Khai clapped his hands together and smiled.

"Great," he said. "We will be starting on Friday six."

"Main house, huh?" Hen-to asked.

"That's right," Khai said. Then he walked out of his office. His advisor stood there, feeling like he got played—again.

* * *

-Friday, 6:00 p.m.-

Hen-to waited outside of his house and looked at his watch.

"She's late," he muttered. Hen-to looked back at his house. Maybe he could go back inside and make a call. Hen-to froze. No, he should trust her. She would've called if she couldn't make it. Hen-to sighed. This suit wasn't comfortable. He straightened his tie again.

"Hey!" someone shouted. Hen-to lifted his head. Bik raced up the dirt path with her purse in her hand. Her boyfriend tilted his head.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Bik said once she stopped. Hen-to gave her a strange look.

"You didn't have to get too dressed up," he said. Her black and red dress hugged her curves. The nursing student frowned.

"I had to look nice for your boss," she said.

"My boss…" Hen-to mumbled with a nervous laugh. It still felt weird to call him that. Granted, Khai did give him the house that he lived in and paid rather well. But still…

"So, where are we eating?" Bik asked, interrupting his thoughts. Her boyfriend looked up at her.

"Hm? Over there," he said.

"Where?" she asked. Hen-to pointed across the street. Bik turned to see the big main house. Her face dropped.

"You live near your boss?" she asked.

"Not my idea. His idea," he said. The nursing student turned back to him.

"Are you serious?" she asked. She hoped to see him smile and laugh. But he looked at her, stone-faced.

"No," he said.

"Oh…" Bik muttered.

* * *

Three couples sat at the long fancy table in the dining room of Khai and Daiyu's house. Bik and Hen-to sat staring at the rest of the guests. Fei and Cai sat across from them. The main couple sat on opposite ends of the table. Candles were lit on the table. Khai grinned the whole time.

"Welcome, everyone," he said. "Thank you for coming." No response. Khai looked at his guests. "How is everyone tonight?" Low mumbles filled the dining room.

"Aw come on," he said. "Liven up. How is everyone tonight?"

"Fine," Fei said.

"Good," his boss said. "And you?" He looked over Cai.

"Me?" she asked. All eyes settled on her. The library volunteer looked around at everyone.

"Oh… Uh… Uh… Fine, I guess," she said.

"That's great to hear," the clan leader said. "Would you like more wine?"

"Yes!" Cai was quick to say. Khai handed Fei the bottle of wine.

"Please serve your beautiful girlfriend," he said.

"Oh, that's fine. He doesn't have to," Cai said, waving him off.

"No," Khai insisted. "It would be bad manners if you poured your own drink. Please, Fei. Go ahead." His advisor poured his girlfriend a drink.

"Thank you," Cai said. She took a drink of her wine.

"Dear, would you like a drink?" the clan leader asked.

"I just took my medication earlier," Daiyu said.

"Oh, that's right," Khai said. "I forgot. I apologize." Hen-to and Fei looked at him with unease.

"Anyway, anyone else want more to drink?" Khai asked. The rest of the guests didn't speak.

"Okay then," he said. The clan leader looked up at the clock.

"Ah," he said. "The first course is ready." Khai stood up from the table. "Excuse me." He walked over to the kitchen. The guests turned their heads. Khai cooking? Khai cooking? Hen-to and Fei turned to Daiyu. Their dear friend smiled.

"He had me taste everything," she said.

"Can he cook?" Hen-to whispered.

"Uh-huh," Daiyu said. She seemed to have too much faith in her fiancée. Love cane make someone blind. Her old friends shivered.

"So how are you this evening?" Bik asked Daiyu. The young ill girl looked up.

"I'm fine, a bit tired," she said.

"Do you think you will be staying with us long?" Hen-to asked.

"I think so," his old friend said. She looked so beautiful in her light blue dress with little butterflies in her hair.

"Those are cute," Cai said, pointing at the butterflies.

"Oh, thank you," Daiyu said. "Khai bought these for me." She reached up and touched a white crystal butterfly in her hair. "I'm just scared that they might get broken if I wear them every day."

"It's okay," Khai said from the kitchen. "I could just set you a new set if you want." Everyone looked up to see him walking back to the dining room with a tray in his hand.

"Thank you for waiting," he said. "For an appetizer tonight, I made Jiaozi dumplings." Hen-to and Fei gave him odd looks.

"This is all I know to make for dumplings," the clan leader said. He walked around the table and served the guests. Hen-to looked up at his boss. He had to be nice to his host.

"Thank you," he said in a low voice. Khai goes over to Bik's plate. Everyone got three dumplings each. Fei poked one of them with his chopstick.

"Is this cook enough?" he mumbled to himself. Cai nudged him hard in the arm.

"Ow," he mumbled.

"Be nice," she whispered. Fei tried to open his mouth but his girlfriend glared at him. The advisor closed his mouth and dropped his shoulders. Khai took his place at the head of the table.

"You can go ahead and start eating," he said. He picked up his chopsticks and put a dumpling in his mouth. The guests stared at him, waiting. At first, Khai was just chewing with no words. Cai raised her eyebrow. The clan leader held up his chopsticks.

"These are actually good," he said. "A bit chewy, but good." Everyone else took bites into their dumplings. The clan leader watched his guests eating.

"Wow," Hen-to said. "These are good."

"Is there anymore?" Cai asked.

"Oh yes," the host said. "Hang on." Khai passed around the tray for all to take seconds. He smiled and winked at Daiyu. His beloved as she quietly ate her Jiaozi. Khai decided to give everyone a moment before he went to the main course.

"Fei, Hen-to," he spoke up. "A word." The advisors looked confused.

"Why?" Fei asked.

"Just come with me," Khai said. The clan leader stood up and walked out of the dining room. Fei and Hen-to looked at each other before following behind. The ladies were left at the table looking just as confused.

* * *

"What did you want?" Hen-to asked in the hallway. "Why did you call us up here?" Khai quickly shushed them.

"Not so loud," he whispered.

"But why are we up here?" Fei asked. Their boss smiled.

"I figured this would be a good time to let the women get to know each other for a little bit," he whispered. "They can't do that with us sitting around." The advisors gave him strange looks.

"And how long are we staying up here?" Hen-to asked. Khai shrugged.

"I don't know," he said.

"You don't know?" Fei asked.

"Look, I will let you know when we can go back down," the clan leader said.

"And what are we going to do up here?" Hen-to asked.

"Just stay up here until we are ready to go back down," Khai said without missing a beat. The advisors frowned at him.

* * *

The women sat alone at the table downstairs. Cai looked at the clothes that Daiyu and Bik were wearing. Compared to her simple brown and grey dress, they looked like royalty.

"Uh…" Cai spoke up. The other two women looked up at her. The volunteer librarian closed her mouth.

"Never mind," she mumbled.

"No," Bik said. "Go on. Tell us what you were going to say." Cai froze with her heart pounding against her chest. Her eyes shifted back and forth between the nursing student and Daiyu.

"It will sound stupid," she muttered.

"I doubt it," the nursing student said. "Just say it anyway."

"Promise you won't laugh?" Cai asked.

"We can't do that," Daiyu said. Bik and Cai looked up at the clan leader's fiancée. She smiled and put up her hands.

"We don't even know what you are going to say," Daiyu said. "If we do promise not to laugh and then we do laugh after you say it, wouldn't we be breaking our promise?" Cai took a moment to think about it. She dropped her shoulders and sighed.

"I just feel undressed compared to your dresses tonight," Cai admitted in a low voice. The other two women didn't speak at first. The volunteer librarian lowered her head.

"Really?" Bik asked. "I was told that I was too dressed up for this dinner party." Cai lifted her head.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I only dressed up to impress my boyfriend's boss," Bik admitted.

"This was my favorite dress," Daiyu said. "I've had this since I was nineteen." Cai sat there, waiting for them to say they were just playing with her and teasing her plain dress. When they didn't, she didn't know what to say. Bik reached out for her hand.

"It's okay," she said. "We don't have to be all high-class and fancy."

"Wow," was all Cai could say. The ladies looked up when they heard someone clearing their throat. Khai, Hen-to, and Fei stood in the doorway of the kitchen. The clan leader clapped his hands.

"It's so good to see you ladies getting along," he said. "But I think it's time for the main course." Bik raised her eyebrow.

"And what would that be?" she asked.

"Sesame honey chicken and mushroom pork with white rice," Khai said. "I had a little help making it."

"I help him," Daiyu admitted. "I just told him what he needed to do." Turned out, the main course was really good. Khai, Hen-to, and Fei were all happy to see Daiyu cleaning her plate for a change.

"What did you put in this food to get her to eat?" Fei whispered. Khai just shrugged.

"I just cooked it," he said.

"Is there anymore?" Daiyu asked. The men stared at her with big eyes.

"Uh… Sure," Khai said. He passed the dish down the other end of the table. Cai served her the chicken and pork. For dessert, everyone had sweetheart cake and white sugar sponge cake. Khai sat back and smiled as everyone ate.

"Perfect," he mumbled to himself. Now he just needed to get everyone down the aisle and everything would be set in just the right place.


	13. Chapter 13

Match Thirteen: Chwiorydd:

-Allison-

My precious daughters. All created in my image. They will help me make the new world. They all have their undying loyalty to me, their mother. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

-Hecate-

She knew that her mother's plan would fail. In fact, Hecate thought it was stupid. If she was going to survive the End of Days, she would have to look out for herself. Good thing she had a sleeve filled of back-up plans.

"Hecate," she heard behind her in the hallway of Arthur's flat. She looked over her shoulder. Tessa stood inches away, smiling at her. This one sent off red flag vibes to her older sister.

"What is it?" Hecate asked. Tessa ponytail bounced as she shook her head. The older sister narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want?" she asked. She doesn't trust so easily. Given her plans and this very game, it is easy to see why.

"Are we going back to Ikebukuro soon?" Tessa asked. Hecate tilted her head.

"What do you mean 'we'?" she asked. Her sister shrugged and smiled. The older nightcomer raised her eyebrow.

"Care to take a walk with me?" she asked. Tessa gave her a strange look.

"What for?" she asked. Hecate walked up and patted her on the shoulder.

"Just come with me," she said. "You have so much to learn."

"O… kay…" Tessa said, blinking. Hecate smiled as she took her hand.

* * *

The girls made it out to the public gardens. Tessa looked around.

"Why are we out here?" she asked. Hecate stopped in her tracks.

"What is your end game here?" the older sister asked.

"Excuse me?" Tessa asked. Hecate glanced over her shoulder.

"Be honest," she said. "What do you think of Mother's plan?" The younger sister eyed her.

"What I think of her plan?" she asked. Hecate eyed her in silence. Tessa put her hands on her hips.

"I don't really like it," she said.

"Really?" Hecate asked.

"Yes," the younger sister said. Neither spoke at first. Hecate kind of leaned back.

"Let me tell you one thing," she said. "This plan will fail. Whether Mother knows it or not, I don't care. But I will not go down with her." Tessa gave her an odd look.

"What are you saying?" she asked. Hecate patted her on the shoulder.

"I only have one piece of advice to you," she said. "Being self-serving is survival. Don't be too trusting with anyone. The one person you can rely on is yourself."

"I don't get it," Tessa said.

"Get what?" Hecate asked.

"What are you planning to do?" her younger sister asked. Hecate turned and smirked to herself.

"Surviving," she said. "And if you were smart you would do the same." The nightcomer didn't turn around to see the look on her sister's face. She would be on her way back to Ikebukuro by the weekend. Whether Tessa followed or not, that was not her concern for the time being.

Hecate had her own plans after all.

* * *

-Sabine-

The quiet ones are the most dangerous. Sabine fits this category.

She just smiles. Her sisters couldn't figure out what was on her mind. Sabine seemed to be one of the closet to their mother. No matter Allison seemed to favor her lately.

"Have you sorted through those files yet?" Allison asked Sabine one hot summer. Sabine looked up at her.

"We're still working on it," she said. But then she paused. "Mother?"

"Hm?" Allison asked. Sabine shifted on the couch.

"What do we do with the ones who don't have a golden star by their name?" she asked. "They won't be any use to us."

"Give them to the Russians," Allison said. Her daughter raised her eyebrow.

"You sure?" she asked. "I thought we didn't trust them."

"We don't," her mother said. She should've guessed that. Allison looked up at her.

"Sabine," she said.

"Hm?" the daughter asked. She looked up to see her mother eyeing her.

"Lately, I have the feeling that some of my daughters are wanting to turn against me," Allison said.

"Is that right?" Sabine asked.

"Yes," her mother said. She leaned in closer to her daughter.

"You wouldn't do any stupid like that, would you?" Allison asked. Sabine didn't even blink as she looked her mother in the eye.

"No," she said. The mother smiled.

"Good," she said. Sabine didn't react to the praise.

Still, she's hiding her own real thoughts and motives. Even Allison and Hecate can't figure her out. The young nightcomer took down more notes.

"Is there anything else that you need?" Sabine asked. Allison raised her eyebrow.

"No," she said. "That will be all for today." Her daughter finishing up the last of the notes for the day.

"Thank you," she said. Sabine packed up everything and walked out of her mother's office.

"Close the door behind you, darling," Allison said. Sabine closed the door behind her.

* * *

Sabine made it back to her room. (It was actually Arthur's guest room. But Mam took over the flat and made it their headquarters.) She set down everyone on her bed.

"You are an odd one, Sabine," a voice said behind her. Sabine closed her eyes.

"What do you want, Hecate?" she asked.

"Nothing," her older sister said. "I just don't know what goes on in that head of yours." Sabine turned around. Hecate smirked in the darkness.

"Pardon?" Sabine asked.

"What are your real intentions?" her older sister asked. "I mean, what do you really want? You can't really be loyal to Mother and her plans, can you?" Sabine didn't speak at first. Hecate calmly waited for her answer.

"I am only playing the game," her sister answered.

"In what way?" Hecate asked. Sabine didn't even blink.

"In all ways possible," she said. "Excuse me." Her sister walked her walk by.

* * *

The quiet sister walked out of the flat. She only knew of one place that she could talk in private. Sabine made it all the way out to a big red call box just down the street. Once inside, she started drawing on the glass inside the box with her finger. Her lips moved with each trace. Sabine picked up the receiver and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked. "I'm here."

* * *

-Tessa-

The youth can be vicious. Tessa was living proof of this.

Those in Ikebukuro called her Hecate 2.0. Neither woman enjoyed that little comparison. Tessa had her own methods and plans. Her first order of business? Get back to Ikebukuro, of course.

Hecate may be onto her.

"Funny," she told Tessa in the middle of July. "I never took you as the travelling type."

"I'm not," the younger sister said as she looked for something to wear. "I have just fallen in love with Ikebukuro." Hecate frowned as she sat on the bed.

"More like you have fallen in love with what's going down in Ikebukuro," she said. Tessa glanced over her shoulder.

"Can you blame me?" she asked. Hecate smiled and put up her hands in s shrug.

"No, actually," she said. "You just don't have to hide the real reason why you are going." Tessa raised her eyebrow.

"Like you are doing?" she asked.

"I'm not denying anything," Hecate said without missing a beat. "No one is just asking me any questions." She and Tessa smiled at each other. They looked like they were ready to attack each other. Hecate took notes in her mind to watch out for Tessa. She could be a force to reckon with if she wasn't careful.

"Let me guess, you want to come with me on the next trip to Ikebukuro," the older sister said. "Am I right?"

"Maybe," Tessa replied. Hecate moved her arms behind her head with a cat-like smirk.

"You will have to talk to Mother about that," she said. "But I am curious about something." Her sister tilted her head.

"And what would that be?" she asked. Hecate leaned forward with her cat-like smirk unbroken.

"Just what are you planning to do once you get to Ikebukuro?" she asked. Tessa smiled as she flipped back her long black hair.

"You will just have to see when I get there," she said.

"So you're just going to volunteer yourself to go with me to Ikebukuro without me even giving my answer or not?" Hecate asked.

"You have a problem with that?" Tessa asked with hands on her hips. Neither sister spoke. Did they really need to? The younger sister stood smirking. Just like Hecate, she knew how to argue her way to what she wanted. Looked like she was taking her sister's advice to heart. Maybe too well.

* * *

-Allison-

I love my daughters so much. I love them equally. They will never betray me. Because if they did, I will kill them.


	14. Diavolo

Match Fourteen: Diavolo:

Feliciano doesn't know what to do. Ludwig was still in a catatonic state and Kiku was further down on his downward spiral. Everyone else was wrapped up in their drama, excitement, and secrecy. The younger Italian man couldn't figure out what was going on. Nobody would tell him anything. It hurt to visit Ludwig like this.

"Still no change?" Feliciano asked the doctor. The doctor took off his glasses and shook his head.

"I'm so sorry," he said. The Italian man held the flowers to his chest.

"Will he ever get better?" he asked.

"We don't know," the doctor said. It hurt to hear that. The doctors didn't know what to do and they didn't have any answers. Feliciano looked into Ludwig's room. The nurses were giving the German man a sponge bath. He had nothing in his eyes. Seeing his dear friend like this tore Feliciano up inside. He couldn't stay any longer. It might be time to abandon hope.

But his stubborn heart wouldn't let the Italian man do that. What could he do? Feliciano wasn't a doctor. Even the best at this hospital was useless. It looked like a bust.

* * *

Feliciano kept to himself for the rest of the day. He couldn't bring himself to visit Gilbert. The Prussian man looked just as sad as the doctor in the hospital. What could Feliciano say to him? Nothing could do it justice.

That evening, Feliciano made it back to his home. He just wanted to have dinner, take a bath, and go to bed. The Italian man tried not to cry as he walked up to the front door.

"Good evening," a voice spoke up. Feliciano jumped and turned around. At the end of a driveway, a man stood leaning on the gate. He was dressed in black with glasses. His dark hair was curly. His tie was crooked. He noticed the look on the Italian man's face.

"I do apologize," the man said. "I didn't mean to frighten you." He opened th gate and walked up the driveway. Feliciano looked so confused.

"Uh… Who are you?" he asked. The man tilted his hat.

"Just a stranger passing by," he said. "May I come in?" Feliciano gave him a blank stare.

"I guess…" he said.

"Thank you," the man said. He followed the Italian man into the house.

* * *

The living room was dim due to the sun setting outside. The gentleman in black sat down on the sofa. Feliciano sat down on the lounge chair.

"May I have some coffee?" he asked. The Italian man blinked.

"Sure," he said. Feliciano got up and walked to the kitchen. He didn't know why he was doing this. He had never had visitors over this late. Who was this guy? What was he doing here? Why did he come here? The Italian man fixed up the coffee and walked into the living room.

"Here you are," he said. The gentleman bowed his head.

"Thank you," he said. The man took his drink. "This is good." Feliciano walked back to his seat.

"I don't understand," he said. "Who are you?" The man set down his cup.

"Oh, where are my manners?" he asked. The man stood up. "My name is Dr. Faust."

"What?" the Italian man asked. Faust chuckled to himself.

"I get that a lot," he said. He pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Feliciano looked just as confused.

"Okay… why are you here?" he asked. "Do you know me at all?"

"No," Faust said.

"Then… why?" the Italian man asked. "Why did you come here?" Faust mentioned him to take a seat. As if in a trance, Feliciano walked over and sat down in his lounge chair. For the first time, the Italian man noticed that his impromptu guest's face looked like a mask in the setting sun. He felt himself shivering. Dr. Faust smiled.

"What if I were to tell you that I could fix all of your little problems?" he asked. The Italian man gave him a weird look.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The doctor chuckled as he sipped his bitter coffee.

"I have heard about your friend's little condition," he said. Feliciano froze in his chair.

"What do you know about Ludwig?" he asked. "Can you save him? Why is he like that?"

"Have you heard a living soul trapped in Limbo?"

"I'm not following…"

"I will break in down in the simplest of terms." Faust set his cup down on the coffee table. "When we die, there are four places that we go: Heaven, Purgatory, Hell, and Tartarus. Just before you get to hell, there is a little place called Limbo." He moved his hands about as he spoke.

"Your friend is stuck in Limbo. Quite a hard place for a soul to get out of, really. How many months was your friend in a coma?"

Feliciano tried to count up on his fingers. "I don't know."

"Would you say about six to seven months?"

"I don't know."

"Let's go with seven months. This is just for my point. Once a soul is stuck in Limbo while the body has been in a trauma like a coma, the chances of it escaping start to slip away at an alarming rate." Faust paused.

"Are you keeping up so far?" He saw the confused look on Feliciano's face. The Italian man looked rather dizzy from the doctor's talking.

"Heh?" he asked. Faust rubbed his forehead.

"Anyway," he said. "It's a miracle that his soul was able to hold out that long. That might not be the case for long." That was enough to snap Italy back into reality.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Faust broke into a serious tone.

"His soul is in danger," he said. "It's fading fast." The color drained from the Italian man's face.

"What?! What do you mean?! Why is it fading?!" he asked.

"He's been down there for too long," the doctor said in a calm tone. He took Feliciano by the hands. "If a soul doesn't go anywhere, they will break down and disappear."

"What will happen to Ludwig then?" he asked. Dr. Faust lowered his eyes.

"It won't be good, I'm afraid," he said. His eyes became more forlorn. "The doctors won't be able to help. They won't know what to look for." Feliciano's heart sank.

"But," Dr. Faust said. "There is a way I can help him." The Italian man's eyes widened.

"How?" he asked.

"There is a way to get his soul out of Limbo," the doctor said. "But there is a cost."

"What cost?" Feliciano asked. Dr. Faust then asked him the question that would set the world further into the Wasteland.

"How far are you willing to go?" he asked.

"I would do anything to save Ludwig."

"Anything?"

The Italian man paused for a long moment. "Anything… legal?"

Dr. Faust shook his head. "I'm afraid that is not enough."

Feliciano's eyes widened. "What… What do you mean?"

The doctor smiled and shook his head. "I do not ask for money with my work. But I do not work for free." Feliciano wanted to get up and run out of the house but he found himself transfixed. Who was this man?

"Who are you?" Feliciano asked. The doctor chuckled.

"It's like I said before," he said. "My name is Dr. Faust." The Italian man shook his head.

"That can't be," he said. His voice dropped into a whisper. "You died centuries ago."

"Yes," the doctor said. Feliciano looked so confused.

"But how?" he asked. "How are you sitting here in my living room?" The Italian man narrowed his eyes. "Are you a ghost?" The doctor chuckled.

"Yes and no," he said. Feliciano looked confused. Dr. Faust held up his hand.

"I don't have time to answer your questions at the time being," he said. "Do you want to save your dear friend or not?" The Italian man lowered his eyes. He couldn't stand to see his dear friend in that state. If he could hear his voice at least once…

"Fine," Feliciano mumbled. "What do I have to do?" Dr. Faust gave him a little smile. He put his hand on his.

"Come with me to work on the paperwork," he said. Dr. Faust finished his coffee. "Thank you for the drink. You make very good coffee."

"Thanks," Feliciano said in a low voice. The doctor stood up.

"Follow me," he said. Dr. Faust walked to the back of the house like he owned the place. The color drained from Feliciano's face.  _What have I done?_

"Are you coming?" Dr. Faust asked. The Italian man's stomach dropped.

"Yes," he said in a sad tone. The men walked to the back of the house.

* * *

Sabine sat in her room, smirking.

"When the innocent sells their soul, the first seal of Europe will be broken."


	15. Brother-in-law, Family Meeting, and Plan of Attack

Match Fifteen: Brother-in-law, Family Meeting, and Plan of Attack:

-Ju-

I am seven months along now. I want summer to be over. The hot is a nightmare and my workload keeps shrinking. Hen-to and Fei took away some of the paperwork.

"Bik wouldn't stop talking about you needing rest," Hen-to told me. I just roll my eyes and sighed. Bik was killing me here. Today, I sat in my office and looked up at the ceiling.

"I'm bored!" I complained aloud. My phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hi, sweetheart," Yao said on the other line. I didn't have the energy to perk up.

"Hey," I said. "Help me…"

"What's the matter?" he asked. I rubbed my forehead.

"I'm trapped in this cage around me," I complained. Yao chuckled on the phone.

"Sorry," he said. "They just want Little Bean to be safe." I put my hand to my stomach and frowned. I shuddered as I remembered the shopping trip last month. Who was that crazy lady? What was she talking about with my child? Some Golden Warrior crap. I wrinkled my nose. What type of drugs was she on? Who does that? Walking up to random pregnant strangers in the street and talking about their supposed "future"? I don't even know what Little Bean is going to be! I tried to push all of that out of my head.

"Does it have to be at my expense?" I asked.

"Aw," Yao said. "Do you want to come out with me?" I paused in my chair.

"And go where?" I asked. He grew quiet on the phone for a moment.

"I need to go visit Kiku," he said in a low voice. I myself suddenly became grin.

"How is he doing?" I asked.

"Not good," Yao replied. "We might have to put him in a home."

"Aw, how awful," I said.

"Everyone in the family is going to go see him," he said. "Do you want to come?"

"Yes!" I was quick so say. "Do you want to meet up?"

"No, I will pick you up," Yao said. "Give me about thirty minutes."

"Okay," I said. "Love you."

"I love you too," he said. I started to smile as I hung up. I was going to have a day of freedom for a change! I squealed to myself at my desk.

* * *

We left shortly before lunch. I was just happy to get out of the house again. I was worried that my captors were going to keep me in the house until October. I took a deep breath.

"We're leaving now!" I shouted at the front door. My advisors sat in the living room looking through my paperwork.

"Where are you heading off to?" Fei asked.

"Visiting my brother," Yao said. "We should be home by later tonight."

"Take care," Hen-to said.

"Okay!" I said. I found myself itching to run out of that house as fast as I could.

"Ready to go?" Yao asked.

"Yes," I said. He put his arm around my shoulders. My heart did little flips in my chest. I giggled as she walked me out of the house.

* * *

Kiku was being held in an assistant living home for the time being. The hospital talked to Sena about what to do. She reluctantly agreed. It must be hard for her. She refuses to show us how she really feels.

"As long as I stay by him I will be fine," Sena keeps saying. I can already see that it's taking a toll on her.

"When was the last time you slept?" Vietnam asked. Sena shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said. "It's fine. He will get better. I know he will. He has too." That was last Sunday at her house. She's not holding it together anymore.

Yao and I didn't talk for the whole drive down. I just looked out the window. Little Bean rested inside of me. I'm starting to think that they like car rides. It's the only time they aren't kicking about. I closed my eyes and tried to take a little nap.

Moments later, I felt someone shaking me on the arm.

"Hey," Yao whispered. "Wake up. We're here. Hey. Hey." I opened my eyes and looked over at him.

"We're here," he said. I looked out the window. The building was massive. You would need sunglasses to look at the white surface outside. How many windows did this building have? The bright green bushes didn't help either. Yao got out of the car and walked around to my side.

"Thanks," he said as he opened the door. He helped me out.

"My back hurts," I complained once I rose to my feet. Yao rubbed on my lower back.

"It's okay, I've got you," he said. Yao walked me to the glass doors. The receptionist looked when we walked up to the desk.

"Good afternoon!" she greeted us walked inside.

"Hello," I said. Yao picked up the pen and signed us both in.

"How are you both today?" the receptionist asked.

"Good," I said. "And you?" The receptionist sighed.

"Tired," she said. "My feet hurt and I am tired of seeing the same faces every day. You know what I mean?"

"Uh… I guess," I said. I rubbed my stomach as I frowned. The receptionist looked down at said stomach.

"When are you due?" she asked.

"October," I said. The receptionist whistled.

"Wow," she said. "You sure you're not having twins?" I laughed.

"No," I said. "Just the one." Yao finished signing us in and handed back the clipboard. The receptionist looked over the paperwork.

"Okay, you are all set," she said. "Enjoy your visit." Yao grimly nodded. He took me by the arm and led me down the hall. I waved at the receptionist as we left.

* * *

Kiku looked worse from the last time I saw him. We found Sena standing in the hallway. She looked down at her hands as she trembled.

"Sena?" Yao asked. She looked up at us. I covered my mouth as I saw her face. Sena had the same tired eyes that Kiku had. She looked like she had been crying.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Sena shook her head. Yao pulled her into a hug. She didn't try and smack him like she normally would.

"Is he awake?" I asked. Sena lowered her eyes.

"Yes," she mumbled.

"Can we… see him?" I asked. She didn't answer. I stood on my tiptoes and peeked into the room. I only caught a glance at him. That was all it took for me to see how bad things had gotten. Kiku looked like he wasted away. He too was biting on his hand. Speaking of his hands, they looked blacker than coal itself. Same with his feet. Kiku's eyes were sullen and looking dead. His face looked ready to collapse in on itself. I could see all of the bones in his body.

"Kiku?" I asked. He didn't even respond to his name. Yao and Sena looked in the room with me. Sena sank to her knees, trembling.

"Kiku?" Yao asked. His brother's gaze never left the floor. My husband ran into the room. I moved my hand to my chest. Little Bean kicked at me from inside. I had to take a step backwards.

"What happened to him?" I asked. At that question, Kiku finally looked up at us. He tried to say something to us, but the words were too soft for us to hear.

"What is that, baby?" Sena asked. She ran over to Kiku as he started shaking.

"Nurse!" his wife screamed. "I need help! Nurse! Nurse!" The whole time, my stomach dropped. A horrifying image from my past nightmares started to reply itself in my head.

* * *

My husband and I gathered with his family at Kiku and Sena's house. Everyone sat in the living room. We all knew why we were here.

Yao held my hand as he spoke.

"This isn't working for him," he said. "Kiku is clearly getting worse." Sena stood near the front door. I saw her mumbling something under her breath. We all looked up at her.

"What did you say?" Yao asked. Sena lifted her head.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked. "You wouldn't understand what's going on!" Her eyes started to well up with tears. I about fell out of my chair. I had never seen her like this before. She trembled as she spoke.

"What do you mean?" Yao asked. Sena shook her head.

"You won't believe me," she said. My husband's grip grew tighter around my hand. I clenched my teeth.

"Baby," I whispered. Yao just ignored me.

"Try me," he said. She shook her head again.

"How long have you been dealing with this?" Vietnam asked, her tone sounding like a mother trying to calm down a worried child. Sena dropped her shoulders.

"Close to a year now," she said.

"Close to a year?!" Yao shouted. "Why didn't you say anything before?!"

"You're hurting me," I said as I sucked in a mouthful of air. My husband loosened his grip on my hand. My fingers were still throbbing.

"What was I supposed to say?!" Sena roared. "My husband has been seeing some woman in a red dress and she's driving him mad and making him sick?" She wrinkled her nose and snorted.

"You would all think I was crazy," she muttered. All of the older siblings froze. Ivan didn't even blink. (Yes, he was here too. He's family also.)

"What did you say?" Yao asked in trembling voice.

"There is a woman in a red dress terrorizing my husband," Sena said, stressing out each word.

"And you can see her too?" Vietnam asked.

"Yes," Sena said. The siblings all turned to each other talking. Li Ying grabbed Ivan by the hand. I looked around, shuddering. The more I hear about this Woman in Red, the more I feel unease. I placed my hand on my stomach. Sena sank to her knees.

* * *

But, there was some good news when Yao and I got home. So much happened in that afternoon alone that my head started to swim. I just wanted to collapse on my bed and go to sleep.

"We're home," I said. Hen-to and Fei were standing in the living room, smiling at us. I looked at my advisors back and forth.

"What?" I asked. "What is going on?"

"We've got him," Hen-to said. "We've that the bastard."


	16. Creeping Juniper

Match Sixteen: Creeping Juniper:

Florence was dying. Lydia seemed withdrawn into herself. Alfred knew that he couldn't help one sister but he could help the other.

The American man knocked on Lydia's bedroom door.

"Lydia," he said. "Come on. Open up. Talk to me." Silence from the other side of the door. Alfred knocked again.

"Lydia! Lydia!" he shouted. "Lydia! Lydia!"

"Go away!" she shouted back. Alfred stood, blinking.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed. The American man lowered his hand. Just like yesterday and last week. Neither girls left the house. Alfred didn't know what to do. Turning to neighbors didn't offer much out of the way either. The American man turned his head when he heard the doorbell ring.

"I've got it!" he shouted. Alfred made his way to the front door and looked out the peephole.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's me," an old lady said. Alfred could see her outside, looking in. He opened the door.

"Hello, miss… uh… uh…" the young man said.

"Gomez," the old lady said. "Kate Gomez."

"Ah," was all Alfred said. Mrs. Gomez blinked at him.

"Is… this a bad time?" she asked.

"No, no!" he was quick to say. "Do come in."

"Thank you," she said. Alfred moved aside to let her in.

* * *

Lydia sat alone in her darkened room. It's been days but it was getting worse. She drew her knees to her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes. Flashes danced around in her head. Lydia started biting on her thumb. Everything started to come back.

_No… No!_

She pressed her hands over her ears. Whimpering sounds spilled from her lips.

* * *

Mrs. Gomez and Alfred across from each in the living room. Neither one spoke. Mrs. Gomez folded her hands in her lap.

"Look, I wasn't planning on staying too long," she said.

"Okay…" the American man said. No words.

"Uh…" Alfred said. The clock ticked in the background. Lydia would know what to do in this situation.

"How are the girls?" Mrs. Gomez asked. That question made the American man stiffen in place. How was he going to explain this? Florence, maybe. But Lydia…

Alfred lowered his eyes. "Actually, not good."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Gomez asked.

"Well… Florence hasn't been feeling too well. And Lydia…" he said.

"Where are they now?" she asked. Alfred pointed behind him.

"They are in their rooms right now," he said. "Florence is asleep and Lydia won't come out of her room." It hurt say that. He glanced up at the neighbor. She had her hands pressed on her lap.

"Can I see Lydia?" she asked. Alfred gave her an odd look.

"Huh?" he asked. He got a good look at her face. Mrs. Gomez was going into concerned mother mode.

"Let me talk to her," she said. Alfred stared at her.

"You want to talk to her?" he asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Gomez said. The American man didn't know how to respond to this at first. He couldn't get Lydia to even come to the door for him. How could this lady be sure that she would open the door for her? Alfred put up his hands.

"Fine," he said. "Go ahead." Mrs. Gomez got up and walked down the hall. A strange thought crossed Alfred's mind in that instant. Something about that old lady looked familiar.

_Where have I seen her before?_

Curious, Alfred followed after the older woman.

* * *

"Lydia!" Mrs. Gomez called as she knocked on the door. "It's me, Mrs. Gomez." Silence from the other side of the room.

"Lydia," the older woman said, knocking on the door. Still no response. She sat down on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Alfred asked.

"She's not going to come out right away, right?" Mrs. Gomez said. "So, we are just going to wait until she comes to us." The American man blinked.

"Are you sure this will work?" he asked. The older woman turned her head to him.

"Only one way to find out," she said. Alfred shrugged and sat door on the other side of the door.

"How long will this take?" he asked.

"Hours," Mrs. Gomez said, shrugging. "Maybe days." Alfred kind of frowned.

"Seriously?" he asked. The American man sighed and dropped his head. He looked over at Mrs. Gomez. Her profile brought back some more memories.

"Mrs. Gomez?" he asked.

"Hm?" she asked. He didn't know how to approach this at first.

"Do you have any children?" Alfred asked.

"No," the older woman said. But then she paused. "Well, I had one." The American man tilted his head.

"Boy or girl?" he asked. A warm smile spread across her face.

"A little girl," she said.

"How old was she?"

"Ten years old."

Alfred began to picture where this was going. He narrowed his eyes. "What happened to her?"

The light slowly died from her eyes. "She died."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

Mrs. Gomez shook her head. "No, it's fine. My therapist is helping me to let her go."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah. I still cope with it every day." She looked down as drew her knees to her chest. Alfred tried to run his own observations in his head. His mind went back to that little girl that he kept seeing on and off. Come to think of it, she had dark hair just like Mrs. Gomez. Alfred could see that old woman in the little girl's face. He didn't know why he asked this next question.

"Did your daughter have a Hello Kitty backpack?" Alfred asked. Mrs. Gomez looked up at him with wide eyes.

"How did you know about her backpack?" she asked. The American man nervously laughed as he rubbed of his head.

"I don't know," he said. "I figured that Hello Kitty was popular with little girls. Since you had a daughter, I just took a lucky guess." Alfred started to laugh loudly. Mrs. Gomez gave him a strange look.

Meanwhile, that little girl stood outside of Florence and Lydia's house staring up at it.


	17. Family

Match Seventeen: Family:

Kiku's family started to feel the effect of the Apocalypse game. It came in small waves but they felt it all the same.

-Sena-

She was the closest to him. And she saw the Woman in Red. She is Okinawa after all. Many thoughts ran through Sena's head.

_Are we going to be ground zero?_

Sena looked at the mirror. She almost didn't recognize herself. Her face looked so pale and sullen. The bags under her eyes looked ready to drag them down. Sena thought that her cheeks would break if she touched them. She also looked ready to cry. The woman took a step back, stomach turning.

"No… no…" Sena said. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. She whipped her head around.

"Who is it?" the woman asked. Sena ran all the way to the door. She looked out the peephole. An old lady stood outside. Confused, Sena opened the door.

"Yamamoto-san?" she asked. The old lady leaned on her cane as she looked at her neighbor.

"My dear!" she said. "What has happened to you?" Sena gave her a tired laugh.

"Aren't we all dead inside?" she asked. The old lady stared at her.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. Sena had a twisted smile on her face.

"No," she said. She leaned in close to the neighbor's face. "We are all going to die. All of us. Can't you feel it?" The old neighbor tilted her head. She reached forward and put her hand on Sena's forehead. The younger woman didn't even resist.

-Vietnam-

She's been the least involved. But when she heard that Kiku was put in assisted care, Vietnam had to get in contact. Yao took the time to fill her in.

"And you are sure the Woman in Red is back?" Vietnam asked.

"Not yet," Yao said in a hushed tone. "But she is coming." His sister had a nervous look on her face.

"Are you starting to have the dreams too?" Yao asked. His sister shifted her eyes away from him.

"Yes," she admitted.

"How bad?" he asked.

"Could I have more tea?" Vietnam asked. Yao picked up the tea pot on the table and poured her another cup. The Vietnamese woman downed her cup.

"Thank you," she said. Vietnam took a moment to put her words together. "I hear babies crying in my dreams. I can also smell burning flesh."

"Crying babies?" Yao asked. Vietnam noticed the look on her brother's face.

"I want to believe that it's nothing," she said. "I don't usually take stock in dreams but these felt different somehow." Her hand trembled with her empty cup.

"Do you want more?" he asked.

"No thank you," she said. Another thought crossed her mind. "How is your baby?" Yao looked a bit nervous.

"Fine," he said. "Ju is fine too. She's not sleeping too well be she's fine though."

"Is Ju having dreams too?" Vietnam asked. Yao froze.

"I don't know…" he said. The room grew quiet.

-Wang Ja-

It's been cold in his master's house lately. That doesn't stop him from looking. Wang Ja needed to void this arrangement in some way. He went back to Ivan's office. The Russian man was out at the time. Wang Ja had to make this quick.

He took the key from his pocket. The butler took a deep breath and unlocked the main desk drawer. When Wang Ja looked inside, a puzzled look came over his face.

"Huh?" he asked. "Where is it? Where did they go?" The drawer was empty. No papers. No files. Everything was gone. Wang Ja sat back and puffed up his cheeks. Had Ivan caught onto his scheme? No, that couldn't be. Wang Ja took a breath.  _Right._  He shook his shoulders lose and dove back in. Most of the drawers were empty. All except for the one in the top right. Thank goodness for small wonders. Wang Ja opened it up and looked inside. The only thing he saw was a black cassette.

"Hm? What is this?" he asked. The butler looked at the tape front and back. There was no label on it. What was this tape?

"I'm home!" he heard from down the hall. Wang Ja shoved the tape into his pocket and closed up everything. He stepped out into the hall. The butler cleared his throat when footsteps walked closer to him.

"What were you doing in my office?" Ivan asked.

"Cleaning," Wang Ja lied.

"What did I tell you?" his boss asked in a tired voice.

"Yes, yes," the Hong Kong man said. "I'm leaving now." Wang Ja turned and walked down the hall. He should've been gloating. This was easy, too easy. All Wang Ja had to do was get a tape player and play the cassette. He might finally get what he needed. He and his sister might get to go home depending on what he found on this tape.

So why did his stomach drop thinking about it?

-Li Yin-

She's been kept out of the loop with good reason. But does she sense that something is coming?

"What's the matter, dear?" Ivan asked her last night. Li Yin didn't know how to answer her husband. She stared at her plate.

"It's nothing," she lied. Ivan gently put his hand on hers. She glanced up at him.

"It's okay," he whispered. "You can tell me." Li Yin could feel her heart jump in her chest. Could she say it? Would he believe her?

"You would think I was crazy," Li Yin said at last.

"Try me," Ivan said. She felt like she didn't have a choice at this point.

"Well, I have been having strange dreams lately," Li Yin finally admitted. The expression Ivan's face didn't change.

"What kind of dreams?" he asked. She takes a minute to think.

"I can barely see anything. But I am always hear babies crying. Plus, there is the smell of burning flesh," the wife explained in a low voice.

"How long have you had these dreams?" Ivan asked.

"About a month now," Li Yin said. He set down his fork.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. His wife shook her head.

"It just sounded crazy," she said. "I thought I was losing my mind." Ivan pulled her into his arms.

"Don't you worry," he whispered. "I will keep you safe." His wife trembled in his arms.

-Ivan-

He had plans to send her out of the country. Li Yin didn't need to be swept up in this game. Ivan might not have a choice. Tandeki and Mam were already advancing in the game. The former was taking the lead. This would not do for Fyodor.

"The leader is not happy," Alisa told him.

"Yes, I know," Ivan said. Again with the leader talk. How come they never saw his face? Who was this Fyodor anyway? The boss wouldn't let him ask questions.

"You just have to further our cause," he was told. Ivan had no choice but to agree. What else could he do? Get his wife out of the way of course.

That wasn't Ivan's only problem though.

Wang Ja seemed to know that something is going on. The Russian man could tell that he had been snooping around in his office.

This would not do.

-Im Yong-

He's in crisis. His sister keeps pushing him to join her. Im Yong kept feeling smaller every day. His friends had no idea what was going on. The Kiku situation just made things that much worse. The Korean boy stared at his laptop.

_What should I do?_

His cell phone buzzed. Im Yong looked down at that screen. Another text from a classmate. Why was he ignoring them? They had nothing to do with his family drama. Why put them through this? Im Yong opened up the text.

"Are you okay? Call me."

Who was it from this time? He didn't bother to look. They all start to look the same after a while. Im Yong leaned back in his chair and sighed. Sleep didn't come easy to him these days either. All the young man could do was surf the internet and watch videos on YouTube. Even that started to lose their appeal.

Another IM popped up. Im Yong sighed and rolled his eyes. Here they went again.

-Mi-Soon-

Why couldn't he see that she was trying to save him? The world was going to end. Countless people were going to die. The effects of the game had already started to bloom in Japan. They were going to spread to her brother. Mi-Soon could not sit by and let that happen.

But he won't listen.

This was not the time to live in the past. Time was running out for all of them. Mi-Soon could only take to her dear brother at nights. Lately, the pressure to work around the clock grew tighter. Still it wasn't going to stop her from trying to get to him before it was too late.

Mi-Soon logged into instant message and started to type.

-Yao and Ju-

They are starting to see it too. Yao just had to confirm it for himself. He found her resting on the couch. She was about to go to sleep when he shook her arm.

"Huh? What?" Ju asked as she jerked awake. She saw Yao's face inches away from hers. The clan blinked.

"What?" she asked.

"I need to ask you something," Yao whispered.

"What?" Ju asked. Her husband hesitated at first. Maybe it was just Vietnam having these dreams. He hadn't talked to the other females in the family yet. There's no way Ju would be keeping something this big from him, right? Right?

Yao slowly drew in a deep breath.

"Are you having weird dreams again?" he asked. Ju froze. She tried to give him an answer but no words came out. Yao's stomach dropped as he received the answer that he dreaded with that silence.

That just opened up a whole host of problems.

-Kiku-

Meanwhile, things grew worse for Kiku.


	18. England to Italy

Match Eighteen: England to Italy:

Sabine sat in the London airport with her luggage at her side. She looked at her phone. Ten in the morning. The nightcomers' plans couldn't just stay in England. They had to spread out through the rest of Europe. Whether Allison realizes it or not, it didn't matter. Tandeki was pulling ahead. The gates were opened and they had the horsemen and the Dis Program. This would not do. Mam would have to pull ahead in their own way.

"Attention, passengers: all flights to Rome are now boarding!" the announcer said over the intercom. "All flights to Rome are now boarding!" Sabine shoved her phone into her purse. Time to go. She gathered up her bag and walked over to board the plane.

-Yesterday-

"You sure this will work?" Tessa asked.

"Uh-huh," Sabine said. Her sister raised her eyebrow.

"What makes you so sure?" she asked.

"We don't have a choice," Sabine said. "We can't just stay in England."

"And how do you think this gamble will pay off?"

"I'm going to try it. Better than sitting around doing nothing."

Tessa shrugged. "Well, good luck then."

"Thank you."

-Today-

Sabine had a window seat as she flew to Rome.

* * *

-Rome-

Feliciano could barely keep it together. Dr. Faust wanted his soul? The thought made him shiver.  _I can't do it…_

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Who is it?" Feliciano asked. He walked over to the front door and looked out the peep hole. Francis stood outside, looking in. The Italian man relaxed and opened the door.

"Brother Francis!" he said in his usual chipper voice. "So good to see you! How have you been?"

"Fine," Francis said. "And how about you?"

"Fine," Feliciano lied. "I'm doing good. Do you want to come in?" The Italian man backed into the house. Francis gave him an odd look but followed him inside.

They sat quiet in the living room. Feliciano forced himself to smile and keep calm.

"So, what brings you by?" he asked.

"Strange things keeping happening," Francis said. The Italian man looked confused.

"Strange?" he asked.

"Oui," the Frenchman said. "Dark times are ahead." Feliciano shuddered.

"Oh…" he said in a low voice. The ticking clock in the background ate up the silence. Feliciano looked down at his lap.

"How are you holding up, really?" the French man asked.

"Fine," Feliciano said. "Everything has been going well with me. There's nothing strange going on." Every word sounded so forced.

"Nothing?" Francis asked.

"Nothing at all," the Italian man lied.

"How is Ludwig?" the Frenchman asked. Feliciano looked ready to cry.

"He's still in a daze!" he wailed. "He won't respond! The doctors don't know what's wrong! They can't fix him. I'm scared he won't come back!" Feliciano broke down crying. Francis patted him on the back.

"Don't cry, Little Italy," he whispered. "You can't lose hope. Ludwig will get better soon. You'll see."

"Will he though?" the younger man asked.

"Feliciano," Francis said. The Italian man broke down sobbing.

"Come on, don't do this," the French man said. "Come here." He pulled Feliciano into his arms for a hug. His adopted brother wept harder.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do," he whimpered.

"Shhh," Francis whispered. "I am here for you. We all are."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sabine stood outside the house. She frowned when she saw that her target wasn't alone. Oh well, she would have to wait. Not a problem from her. Just as long as Feliciano sold his soul to Faust.

Sabine pulled out her phone from her purse. She typed up a quick text and hit send. The nightcomer smirked to herself. Then she vanished into thin air. Couldn't hurt to do a little sight-seeing.

* * *

Feliciano looked down at the floor. "Brother France."

"Hm?" Francis asked. The Italian man lifted his head with tired eyes.

"Would you sell your soul to save someone you love?" he asked. The French man stared at him with the color drain from his face.

"Why would you ask that?" he asked. The Italian man shook his head.

"No reason," he said. Francis grabbed him by the hands.

"Listen to me, Italy," he pleaded. "Don't do anything you're going to regret!"

"Francis…" Feliciano said.

"Listen to me," the Frenchman said. "Ludwig will get better! You don't need to do anything distract. You have to believe in him. Do you understand?" Something about his words commanded the Italian man's attention. Feliciano slowly nodded.

"Good," Francis said with relief. "I am going to stay with you tonight, okay?" The Italian man tried to smile for real. This wasn't much but it would have to do for now. It would feel good to have some sort comfort around him for a change.

But such comfort can open a man up to the most vulnerable of traps. Starting tonight.


	19. Karma

Match Nineteen: Karma:

Women can be scary creatures. Especially when you screw them over. Jianjun learned this the hard way.

-Three Days Earlier-

He had a way with women. Jianjun had the practice back in the old village. He could get them to give him anything that he wanted. The boy could even make them believe they were in a relationship. Then he would dump, ghost, or both to them, leaving them heartbroken and broke. There were many women in China looking for revenge.

One particular woman tracked him down to Beijing and the apparently the gods were on her side. It started with a phone call.

-2:00 a.m.-

The phone in the hotel room rang. Jianjun mumbled to himself as he reached out from his bed to feel around for the receiver. If this was another one of Junjie's annoying friends looking for a party he swore that he would…

"Hello?" he asked in a groggy voice.

"Jianjun?" a woman asked on the other line. The con man narrowed his eyes.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Jianjun, is that you?"

He started to look confused. "Who is this?" There was a pause on the other line. He could hear a snort over the phone.

"Of course you wouldn't remember me, you son of a bitch!" the woman snapped.

"Who is this?" Jianjun asked. There came another pause over the other line.

"I am going to make you pay," the woman hissed. Then she hung up. Jianjun stared at the phone. What was all of that about?

-7:45 a.m.-

Black pencil pumps walked up to the Liao-Wang front door. She breathed heavily as she pounded on the door. The woman saw red the whole time. She was about to knock again when the door opened. Yao stood in the doorway with a baffled look on his face.

"Uh… can I help you?" he asked. The woman looked like she was ready to scream.

"Is this the Liao house?" she asked.

"The Liao-Wang house," Yao answered. "And… who are you?" The woman calmed down. She cleared her throat and smoothed out her short black dress.

"Is Khai in?" she asked.

"He's dead," the man of the house said.

"Oh, that's right," the woman said, rubbing her forehead. Yao took a step back.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Did you want something?" That got the strange guest's attention.

"Oh yes," she said. "I want revenge!"

"What?!" Yao asked. "What did I do to you?"

"Not you," she said. "My ex, Jianjun!" The man's eyes grew wide.

"Honey?" they heard in the house. "Who's at the door?" Yao and the woman looked up to see Ju walking up to the front door. The clan leader paused.

"Who is this?" she asked. The woman clapped her hands together.

"You my ex's niece?" she asked. Ju gave her an odd look.

"Why?" she asked.

"You're going to help me get what I want," the woman said. "Revenge."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Ju asked. "How did you even find our address?"

"The internet," the woman answered. "Are you going to help me make the bastard's life hell or not?" The couple looked at each other.

* * *

Jianjun found himself having a bad day.

He shook Junjie on the shoulder. "Get up! We have to go!" The disgraced heir mumbled something under his breath and rolled over in his bed. The con man gritted his teeth.

"Get up!" he yelled. "Get up!" Junjie mumbled as he rolled over on his side. Jianjun hit him harder.

"Boy, get up!" he shouted. The disgraced heir finally got up.

"What?!" he asked.

"We have to go," the con man said. Junjie looked confused.

"Why?" he asked. Jianjun started pacing around the small room.

"She found me," he muttered. "She found me again."

"What are you talking about? Who found you?" Junjie asked. His partner looked up at him with big eyes.

"My damned ex!" he shouted. "I don't know how she tracked me down but if she can do it, someone else could!"

"What are you talking about?" Junjie asked. Jianjun slammed his hand down on the bed.

"You won't get your revenge if we get caught!" he said. "She might call the police on us!" That was enough to get the former heir out of bed.

"Let's go!" Junjie said. The men packed up and headed out of their room. Jianjun was the one who checked them out. And check them out in a hurry he did.

* * *

The day started to get worse. Jianjun tried his best to keep calm. Junjie gave him a strange look.

"You okay, man?" he asked.

"No!" the con man shouted. He slammed on the steering wheel, screaming. The horn blared in the early Beijing morning. Another horn honked back. Jianjun whipped his head around.

"Shut up!" he shouted. The fallen party boy looked like he was about to jump out of the car and run.

"Listen man," Junjie said. "You need to chill. You can't let some woman work you up like this." Jianjun turned to him glaring with fire in his eyes.

"Some woman? Some woman?!" he yelled. "She is not some woman! That bitch is a devil!" Jianjun shivered as began to remember the early nineties. More horns honked background. The con man wanted to rip of his hair.

"That bad, huh?" the former heir asked.

"Yes!" the con man shouted. "How the fuck did she even track me down like that?!" He let out another scream in the car. Suddenly, there was a tap on the driver's side window. Jianjun froze and rolled down the window. A police officer looked inside. The con man tried to straighten himself out.

"Yes, officer?" he asked.

"Are you aware that you are holding up traffic?" the cop asked.

"Huh?" Jianjun asked, looking behind him. A line of cars sat behind his honking and swearing at him.

"Oh," he muttered. "Sorry about, sir." The con man laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"License and registration, please?" the cop asked. Jianjun looked over at Junjie and then turned back to the officer.

"Okay then…" he said. The con man pulled out his id and handed it to the officer. "This is a rental, by the way."

"Doesn't matter," the cop said, taking the ID. "Registration, please?"

"Alright," Jianjun said. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the registration. The cop looked at the license and registration for a moment. A confused look came over his face.

"Are you… Kim Jianjun?" he asked.

"Yes," the con man said. The cop frowned at him.

"I'm going to need you to step out of the car," he said. Jianjun still had a forced smile on his face.

"Is there something wrong, officer?" he asked.

"There's a warrant for your arrest in Shanghai and few other places," the cop said.

"What?!" Junjie shouted. The con man started to break out into a sweat.

"There must be some sort of a mistake," he said.

"No sir," the officer said. "Please step out of the car for me." Instead, the con man sped off on a red light.

"Hey!" the cop shouted. Junjie looked back and forth with a panicked look on his face.

"What the hell, man?!" he yelled. "Are you trying to have us go to jail?!"

"It's her!" Jianjun shouted. "It has to be her! It has to be her! I know it is!"

"Dude, slow down!" the former heir yelled. "What are you doing?!"

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Jianjun yelled. He had turned around at the wrong moment. When he did, the rental car hit a small bump in the road. Jianjun whipped his head around.

"What the…?!" he shouted. The car skidded off to the right and hit a fire hydrant. Both Jianjun and Junjie sat there in stunned silence. The former heir blinked.

"What…. Just happened?" he asked. The con man sat there blinking and confused. By the time the cop caught up to them, Jianjun's day was about to get a whole lot worse.


	20. Sukkub

Match Twenty: Sukkub:

This is Valya.

She sat in her white prison smirking at her captors. Most of the members of Vozrozhdeniye feared her. Valya didn't have to do anything to make them nervous. But what were they going to do with her?

Fyodor wants her to make her debut in Ikebukuro.

"That's what he wants," Alisa insisted. The other members didn't look so convinced at first. Why did she always talk to the leader personally? Come to think of it, none of them have ever since Fyodor's face. Who was this guy? Ivan had his suspicions. His boss wouldn't let him ask questions.

"Just do your job with this game," he told him. Ivan didn't complain. He didn't care at this point. He just wanted this to be over. It looked like that was coming sooner.

Valya sat in her room. She doesn't move. The camera stayed on her. She doesn't blink. Her breathing through the mike made Adrik shutter. He tried to not make eye contact.

"What is wrong, comrade?" he heard behind him. The scientist turned around. Alisa leaned against the doorframe. He shook his head. His comrade walked to the glass.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" she asked. The crazed woman's eyes shifted towards her. Adrik took a step back.

"Not really," he admitted. Alisa turned to him with a twisted smile on her face.

"That's the beauty of it," she said. "A monster can be both ugly and beautiful at once." She twirled around for a bit. Adrik nodded as he gave her an odd look.

"If you say so," he said. Adrik looked at that creepy woman behind the glass.

* * *

Ivan just had to do some digging for himself. Digging about everything. He sat down at his computer in his office. Wang Ja had been in here snooping again. He was going to have a chat with his butler about that. Ivan filed that away in his mind.

He started with searching through the history of Vozrozhdeniye. Not much to look at there. Just the founding and early roots. Background on the members. That didn't interest him. Ivan wanted the head of this serpent.

Fyodor's profile was blank. Just as predicted. Was it marked private? No. But something didn't seem right about it.

Ivan looked up when there was a knock on his door.

"Enter!" he said. Wang Ja poked his head inside.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're busy," he said. "I'll come back later." Ivan had no emotion on his face.

"No," he said. Wang Ja looked up at him.

"No?" he asked.

"Close the door," the Russian man said. Wang Ja closed the door behind him with unease in his eyes. Ivan's face didn't change.

"How are you with computers?" he asked.

"Pretty good," his butler said. "Did you need me to do something on a computer?" Ivan rose to his feet and pulled out the chair.

"Sit," he said. Wang Ja looked at him at first.

"Come on," his boss said. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just take a seat." Like Wang Ja had a choice. The young man walked over and took a seat.

"What do you want me to look up?" the butler asked.

"The Vozrozhdeniye hidden files," Ivan said. Wang Ja turned his head.

"What are those?" he asked.

"Just do it," the boss said in a low voice. The Hong Kong man could feel his on his back.

"Yes," he said. Wang Ja began typing.

* * *

Valya would be shipped out to Japan in October. She's already hungry for blood. The members Vozrozhdeniye still had tests to do. Could they even pull them off in time for her debut? Alisa seems to think so.

"This beautiful angel will crush those tadpoles," she said. Why was she so obsessed with the tadpole still? They had a super soldier of their own now.

"It's not enough!" Alisa said. "We need more! We are trailing behind in this game! Tandeki and Mam are leaving us in the dirt! We need to catch up with them!" She did have a point. The other two sides were advancing in their own ways. Tandeki had the tadpoles and the Dis Program. Mam was spreading out in Europe. They had their sights set on Italy. And what was Vozrozhdeniye doing? This would not do.

"She will give us the edge," Alisa insisted. "Fyodor told me so." There she goes again with Fyodor. Why was he never at their meetings? What did he have to hide so badly?

"It's funny," Alexander said.

"What?" Alisa asked. The comrade cocked his head.

"Why does Fyodor only talk to you?" he asked.

"He has his reasons." She didn't even blink as she said that.

"And they are?" he asked. All eyes fell on Alisa. She stood up straighter.

"Reasons," she said again. Boris sat in the back corner, frowning.

-Six Years Ago, Moscow, Russia-

Boris sat a bar in Moscow University. He had just delivered a lecture today. Just some philosophy that he was paid to peddle to the youth. Sure, the lecture had a kennel of truth to it. But this was not what he wanted to say. Boris took another drink of his whiskey. His real talents felt like they were being wasted.

"They don't understand me," he mumbled. "It's all lies! Why did they have me teaching lies to the people!" Boris slammed down his glass.

"I understand how you feel," someone said next to him. Boris paused and turned. A woman with long dark hair brushed against her shoulders. A smile plastered against her pale face. Boris narrowed his eyes.

"Did you need something?" he asked. The woman took a seat next to him.

"I saw your lecture," she said. Boris frowned.

"Heh," he said. "That old thing. They have me give the same lecture every year at a different college."

"I can understand," the woman said. She held out her hand. "My name is Alisa Sazhin and you are?"

"Boris Oleneva," he said.

"Nice to meet you," she said. The pair shook hands. Alisa ordered herself some vodka. She downed her shot and turned to the gloomy-looking man.

"You know something," Alisa said. "Your talents are wasted here."

"Yes, they are," Boris agreed. She rested her elbow on the bar.

"I am part of a movement to change this world," Alisa said. At first, Boris rolled his eyes.

"Oh," he said. She raised her eyebrow.

"What was that for?" the woman asked.

"Are you one of those crackpot revolutionaries looking to form a cult?" Boris asked. Alisa threw back her head and laughed.

"No, of course not," she said. "What do you take me for?" Her face became serious. "No, this is bigger than that." Alisa didn't even wait for him to speak.

"I can't describe it out in the open," she said. "But here." The woman reached into her bag and showed a pink flyer to him.

"Come out and check out our meetings," she whispered. Boris gave her a strange look.

"I don't get it," he said.

"Get what?" she asked. Boris held up the flyer.

"Why are you giving me this?" he asked. Alisa smiled as she turned to the bar.

"Because," she said. "You have skills that I would hate to see go to waste on sheep in Mother Russia."

* * *

-Present Day-

Boris kept his eyes one Alisa. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

_You might want to be careful, Alisa_ , Boris thought.  _I don't think you can keep this scheme up any longer._  Alisa eyed with a cat-like smile on her face.

* * *

Back at Ivan's house, Wang Ja managed to come across something.

"Boss, look," he said. "I think I found something." The Russian man leaned in for a look. He had no emotion on his face.

"I see," he said. "This changes everything."


	21. Fegefeuer

Match Twenty-One: Fegefeuer:

Ludwig looked around. He felt so cold in this place. How many times had he been in this room? No matter where he went, he ended up back in this parlor. The German man had gotten used to the dull smell of cigars. Then that humming came again. Ludwig turned around. No one was there.

"Ello?" he asked. A child's laughter filled the air. The German man looked around. He wished that he had his gun with him.

A click snapped on in the air. Ludwig turned his head. It was starting again. Old cabaret music surrounded his head. Footsteps walked into the room. Ludwig looked up. All of the fancy ladies and gents started coming through the door. They had to be from the eighteenth century. Maybe the nineteenth. He couldn't be sure. They all walked by him into the parlor. A young man looked up and tipped his hat.

"Hello again, good man," he said. Ludwig waited his hand with uneasy. How many times have they done this? It never changes. That man is always smiling at him. Always says the same thing. Why doesn't it change? Ludwig wanted so badly to scream.

But no sound came from his mouth.

_Why am I here? I want to go home._

But where was home?

Everywhere he went, the room looked the same. There were no doors. No windows either. But where were these people coming from?

"Still don't get it?"

Ludwig turned his head. Where? Where was that voice coming from? He could feel his heart pounding against his chest.

_I have to get home. Please… Let me go home._

"It doesn't work that way."

Ludwig froze as his heart pounded against his chest. She's behind him. He could feel her non-existent eyes on his back. She's smiling now.

"You can't leave. You are with us forever."

The German man shook his head.  _No… No!_

"Oh yes, my dear." Her nails dug into his chest. The music starts again. Here come more people. They have no faces. Still, they talk like nothing was wrong. All of the happy chatter made Ludwig's stomach turn. How could they all be like this? Don't they see what's happening to them? Why would they wake up and realize the truth?

"They can't. They are dead. Just like you."

Ludwig shook his head.  _No… No!_

"But yes. Don't you see it? You are dead. You will not be allowed to go home. Ever!"

The German man tried to hit her away. But he would only hit air.

"You can't touch me."

The music started up again. More people started walking into the parlor. This time, he could see through them. They didn't seem to have feet anymore. The air suddenly turned colder. Ludwig's lungs began to ache. His eyes watered. It was then he recognized the song. The lyrics were in Polish.

_Gloomy Sunday…_

His heart began to ache. He was trapped in this loop. Ludwig covered his head and screamed. But the silence ate up his screaming.

"Don't you see now? You can't go because you are home!" She wrapped her invisible arms around him.

"This is your home now."

_No…_

"Oh yes." She laughed as he broke down into tears.

Yet, it didn't have to be that way. There would be somebody to come and rescue the German man. But there would be a huge price to pay.

Sabine walked up to Feliciano's door and knocked.


	22. Karma, Loss, and the End of a Nightmare

Match Twenty-Two: Karma, Loss, and the End of a Nightmare:

-Ju-

I have one more month left and I got an early present. Excuse me while I try to hold back my laughter. Here's what happened.

Kao Yasha was a woman with a sunny disposition once you get to know her. She was just a victim of my uncle's deceit. She sat across with Yao and me in the dining room.

"I don't know what exactly want us to do with Mr. Kim," I said. "We have been keeping tabs on him and this other guy that he's been with. But other than that…" Yasha narrowed her eyes.

"I want to make the bastard pay," she said.

"Yes, I am aware of this," I said. I resisted the urge to say, "Don't we all?"

"Did you try to sue him?" Yao asked.

"I don't have the money for a lawyer," Yasha said. "Plus, I don't have the energy for to drag this out through court." I understood her plight. I really did. But what did she want us to do about it?

"I still don't understand how you think that we can help you," I said. "What are you exactly asking us to do here?" Yasha closed her hands into fists.

"I don't know," she admitted with a trembling voice. "I just figured that you would know where he was."

"You're in the same boat as us," I said. "I really that I knew where that bastard was." Right when I said that, the phone rang.

"Excuse me," I said. I got up and walked into the living room. Why am I even walking on my poor swollen feet? I could've just picked up cell phone. Too late now.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Ju! I have some good news for you!" Hen-to shouted.

"What?" I asked.

"It's your uncle," he said. "He's been arrested." I couldn't help but to smile.

"Hang on," I said. I waddled as fast as I could back to the dining room. Yao and Yasha looked up at me.

"Who was that?" Yao asked. I couldn't help but smile.

"You're going to want to come hear this," I said. I turned back to the living room.

All three of us, crowded around the phone. I tried to hold back my laughter.

"Go on," I said. "Tell us what happened. How did Mr. Kim get arrested?" My husband and our guest looked at me with big eyes.

"Yes, turns out that he stopped by a cop for holding up traffic," Hen-to said. "Jianjun panicked and tried to drive away." He broke into laughter on the other line. I waited until he got it out of his system.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"He sped and hit a fire hydrant!" my advisor yelled. Hen-to started laughing again. "They both got arrested! All because a fire hydrant!" I tried to not laugh myself. It did sound pretty funny.

"Which jail are they in now?" I asked.

"They are downtown," he said.

"Thanks," I said. Despite the good news, I couldn't celebrate just yet. Jianjun could talk his way out of jail. I heard the stories of him doing it before.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"We will keep watching," Hen-to said.

"We need to keep him in jail," I said.

"Understood," my advisor said.

"Thank you," I said. I hung up with a cautious smile. I put up a small V-sign. Yao and Yasha looked like they would explode with joy.

"Don't celebrate yet," I said. "We still have to keep him in jail." Yasha smiled at me like a demon. I shivered as I saw her teeth.

"Don't worry about that," she said. "I can help you keep him there." She broke into a little giggle. I turned to my husband with a worried look my face. He looked just as worried as I did. Oh boy…

* * *

Yasha came with back-up. Turns out, she had been keeping in contact with all of Jianjun's previous victims. They had all formed a group on WeChat. She was quick to share that my uncle had been arrested. (She gave me an invite on the spot.) The women vowed they would show up to take him down.

"Damn!" I said as I scrolled through the members' list. "He's been pretty busy, hasn't he?" Yao only whistled at the list. Yasha gritted her teeth.

"I will make that bastard pay this time!" she snapped.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I will be once that bastard has paid for what he's done!" she shouted. I just left it there. Still, that led me to another thought. I pulled out my phone and disappeared down the hall. I had to make one more call.

"Hello?" Hen-to asked. I looked down the hall.

"What about Junjie?" I whispered. There was a pause on the other line.

"They went to separate jails," he said in a low whisper.

"What?" I asked.

"Someone put in the request to make the transfer," Hen-to said.

"Who made the transfer call?" I asked.

"Who do you think?" he asked. I frowned.

"His mother?" I asked.

"Yeah," Hen-to said.

"Damn it," I said. "Does she even care that she's put us all in danger?"

"No, dear," he said. "But will keep our eyes open." I rubbed my forehead. Szu and her parents needed to know what was going on. But then, another thought crossed my mind.

"I need to call Zhong!" I said.

"I don't think he would listen," Hen-to said.

"I still have to make the call," I said. "He has to know." My advisor didn't speak at first.

"Fine," he said. "Go ahead." I breathed out.

"Thank you," I said. I hung up and made the call.

* * *

For three days, we kept our eyes open. Szu and her parents couldn't rest. I didn't blame them. Lili even talked about going away for a while.

"You don't need to do that," I said.

"Do I?" he asked. "Can you guarantee me that he won't come after you or my daughter?" I couldn't answer him. I pressed my lips together.

"Lili…" I said. I tried to grab his arm. He quickly pulled away.

"No," he said. Lili walked into his house and shut the door. My stomach dropped.

"Lili…" I said again. On the upside, Zhong took me seriously. He had security around his house and work 24/7. He offered me the same protection. I thanked him. Guards have been staying outside the gates at the front. I couldn't complain. At least we had some form of protection. Still, I couldn't rest. Yasha and her fellow victims were fighting to keep Jianjun in jail. But I couldn't help but wonder if his charges would stick. Yao came up behind me and rubbed my shoulders.

"It will be okay, dear," he said in a low voice. I forced myself to smile.

"Will it, though?" I asked.

"I believe so," Yao said. After three days of unease, part of me wished that something would happen.

Unfortunately, I would get my wish.

It happened on a Saturday morning in September. It's one of those rare times where I got to sleep in. Bik has greatly reduced my work. I didn't have any paperwork that week. Yao took care of all that. For once, I was just happy to be asleep.

But then my phone rang.

I grumbled as I started reaching around for my phone on the nightstand. Why did I have to be woken up on my forced day off?

"Hello?" I asked. I heard someone frantically whispering into the other line. A confused look came over my tired face.

"Hello?" I asked again. The whispering grew faster.

"Help… me…" I heard. Then, there came a scream and a pop. Suddenly, the line got disconnected. I looked at the number on my screen. My eyes widened when I realized the source. I sat up and tried to climb out of bed.

"Yao!" I screamed. "Yao!" My husband ran up the steps to my room.

"What's going on? What happened?" he asked. I held up the latest call log on my phone. It didn't take him long to figure out what I was trying to say.

"We have to get to the Zhong house now!" I shouted. Yao didn't have to say a word. I just threw some clothes on and we hurried out the door.

* * *

We drove to the Zhong House as fast as we could. I insisted that Yao take me with him. He had no choice but to listen to me. I just had to see what was going on. Along the way, I feared the worst. I drew out my phone and called the police. I explained the situation and they promised to be on the way to their destination. By the time we pulled into the driveway, we were met with a horrifying site. A maid lay outside the open front door in a pool of blood. The color drained from my face. Yao jumped out of the car and ran over to her. I started to get out of the car too.

"Stay there!" my husband shouted. Again, I didn't listen. I did my best to run and keep up. Where were the guards? Yao knelt down to the body and put two fingers to her wrist. He looked up when I made it over to him. My husband shook her head. My bad feeling got worse as we went inside. A security guard sat on a couch with holes in his head and chest. He looked like he had been watching TV when he had been shot. We didn't get a chance to check him out due to the shouting from the back of the house.

"Is that…?" I asked. Yao grabbed my hand and pulled me along with him. The shouting came from an office further down the hall.

"Come on, don't do this!" Zhong pleaded.

"Shut up!" Junjie hissed.

"Junjie!" his adoptive father said.

"I said shut up!" that bastard snapped. Yao and I looked in the doorway. Junjie had a hunting rifle pointing to a cornered Zhong. His adoptive father had his hands up with his back to the bookcase.

"You did this to me!" Junjie yelled. "I lost everything! My friends, my money, my reputation, my life! All of it! Because of you!"

"We can talk about this! Put the gun the down," Zhong tried to tell him.

"Shut up!" Junjie yelled. I wanted to run up and stop him but Yao held me back. I whipped my head around. He shook his head.

"But…" I mouthed. He just looked down at my stomach. It hurt to just stand there and hold my tongue. Right now, all I could do was hope that the police would arrive before there was further damage. Zhong took a step forward.

"You don't have to do this," he said in a calmer tone. Junjie glared at him with his finger on the trigger.

"Please, don't do this," Yao said. "You're already in trouble with the law. Don't make it any worse."

"And who do I have to blame for that?!" Junjie snapped. "You all ruined my life!"

"It doesn't have to be like this," Zhong said. "Just put the gun down and we can talk about this."

"No, we can't," his adopted son hissed. Zhong took another step forward to his desk.

"Son…" he said.

"I am not you son!" Junjie shouted.

Bang!

Zhong's eyes and mouth were wide open. He didn't make a sound as he collapsed to the desk.

"Zhong!" I shouted. Junjie turned the gun on us.

"You're next!" he shouted. He turned to aim his gun towards Little Bean.

"Freeze!" a voice boomed behind us. Yao and I looked up to see a swat team rushing behind us. My husband pulled me aside in time as they filed into the room.

"Put the gun down!" the leader shouted as he and his team had their guns drawn. Junjie led them into a standstill for about ten minutes.

"Put the gun down!" the leader shouted again. Junjie finally gave up and put the gun down. The team surrounded him and arrested him. That bastard glared at us as they dragged him away. The leader gave us a nod as he walked by. I about collapsed in Yao's arms. Meanwhile, Zhong's blood ran all over his papers on his desk.

Zhong Tan was dead at age fifty-nine.

Zhong Junjie now faced three counts of murder along with the multiple rape, drug, and assault charges. Bond was denied this time. He murdered one of the most powerful business clan leaders in Eastern China. Mommy's not going to be able to help him this time. Yeah, he's not getting out for a long time.

"Is it over?" Szu asked me after she and her parents watched the news. I sighed and smiled in their living room.

"Yes," I said. "It's over." Szu put her head on my shoulder. Hark and Lili could finally breathe out. I on the other hand still couldn't relax. I still had to deal with Jianjun. But at least now Junjie would be out of our lives for good.


	23. Manchineel

Match Twenty-Three: Manchineel:

Florence didn't have much time left. Her health kept circling the drain. She never got out of bed anymore. Alfred stayed by her side. He felt helpless watching her.

"I'm still here," he whispered. Lydia stood off in the corner. She still wasn't speaking to the American man but she didn't try to chase him off anymore. Alfred turned his head.

"How much longer does she have?" he asked. Lydia shook her head.

"Oh…" Alfred muttered to himself. Right now, Florence was sound asleep. She looked so pale in the darkness.

"Florence…" the American man said. That peaceful expression on her face struck him in the heart. She probably knew what was coming but she wasn't scared or sad. How could she be so calm?

Life still had to go on around them. Alfred practically stayed at their house for the time being. When was the last time he slept in his own bed? The American man rubbed his forehead.

"Are you okay?" Lydia asked.

"No," he admitted. He leaned up against the wall. "I'm just tired."

"Then go home," she said. Alfred shook his head.

"Can't," he said.

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked. He looked up at her.

"How about you?" he asked.

"Huh?" she asked.

"How have you been?" the American man asked. "You still haven't told me what happened to you while you were out. She cut him a cold glare.

"Go home," she hissed.

"I can't," he said. Lydia narrowed her eyes at him.

"And why is that?" she asked.

"I love her," Alfred said in a low voice.

"What?" she asked. The American man looked up at him with desperation in his eyes.

"I said, I love her," he said again. "I care about both of you. I can't leave you. I won't leave you." Lydia didn't know whether to scream or cry.

"How can you say that?" she asked. "You are just… you!"

"And what's wrong with that?" Alfred asked. Lydia sighed and shook her head.

"Whatever," she muttered.

"Look, what's the matter?" he asked. "What happened to you?"

"I don't want to talk about," Lydia said under her breath.

"What?" Alfred asked.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted. The American man went silent. He turned his attention back to the sleeping Florence. She still looked so peaceful.

* * *

Alfred started to do the chores around the house. Anything to take his mind off of Florence's numbered days. Sometimes, he would help out Mrs. Gomez.

"You don't have to do all of that," she told him as he raked her front yard.

"I want to," Alfred lied. She didn't try to stop him. He needed this. As he raked, the American man couldn't stop wondering.

"Mrs. Gomez?" he asked. She looked up at him from her porch.

"Hm?" the old lady asked. Alfred walked up the stony path to the stairs. The closer he got, the more he could see that little girl in her face. He blinked for a moment.

"I have something to ask you," he said.

"What is it?" Mrs. Gomez asked.

"Did you have any children or grandchildren?" Alfred asked. He could feel the chill of the autumn wind blowing overhead. The American man waited for a response. Mrs. Gomez lowered her head.

"Yes," she said in a quiet voice. The older woman stood up and walked into her house.

"Mrs. Gomez?" Alfred asked. He followed her into the house.

* * *

The middle-aged woman sat at her dining table in the dark. Alfred stood in the doorway to the living room.

"Mrs. Gomez?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Hm?" Alfred asked. The older woman looked up, ready to cry.

"Oh, I am so sorry," the American man said. Mrs. Gomez shook her head.

"No, it's fine," she said. "Her name was Grace. She was my granddaughter." Alfred took his seat at the opposite end of the table.

"What happened to her?" he asked. The older woman sighed.

"My daughter, I don't know where I went wrong," she admitted. "I did right by her. I really did. She ran away from home with a boyfriend when she was sixteen. Two years later, Grace was born."

Mrs. Gomez sighed. "That little girl was the only light in my life. I adored her from the moment I first held her. I was awarded full custody of her. I did everything right by that child. Those first four years of her life were the best time for me."

"What happened?" Alfred asked. Mrs. Gomez frowned.

"Her mother wanted to be back in her life," she said.

"Was that… a bad thing?" he asked.

"No, actually," Mrs. Gomez said. "My daughter had gotten off of drugs and left her abusive boyfriend. She was getting help and wanted to reconnect with Grace. I didn't complain. She needed her mother after all. And everything was going well." She looked down at her hands.

"My daughter got a job across the country," the older lady said. "She took Grace with her. I had a bad feeling about this. I tried to warn my daughter not to go but she didn't listen to me. She accused me of trying to micromanage her life. In the end, I lost." She looked over the kitchen.

"She was supposed to visit me the day she died," Mrs. Gomez added. "I was going to get her her favorite meal from McDonalds. Grace wanted to see off her toys she got from California." The details sounded so familiar to Alfred.

"Was Grace on American Airlines 11 when she died?" he asked. That question just happened. He didn't even realize that he was standing up. The American man covered his mouth when he realized what happened. He feared that their neighbor would be offended. Instead, she stared at him with big eyes.

"How did you know?" Mrs. Gomez asked.

"I think I have been seeing her around," he said. "She's been hunting me and I don't know why." Her eyes widened as she looked over his shoulder.

"Grace?" she asked. "Grace, baby? Is that you?" Alfred turned around and stood up. There she was. Grace stood at the front door with her Hello Kitty backpack. The little girl looked like she was ready to cry. Mrs. Gomez stood up and walked over to the little ghost girl. Alfred could've taken in this happy reunion but something felt off.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Hello?" the American man asked.

"Alfred, come quick!" a girl's voice yelled. "It's Florence! She's not breathing!"

"Lydia?" the American man asked. "Lydia, is that you?" The line went dead. Alfred looked at his phone. His stomach sank.

"I have to go, Mrs. G! I'll be right back!" he yelled as he ran out the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tessa hung up her phone and smiled. It was time for her to make another call. She and Sabine drove right into their work.


	24. Uwabami

Match Twenty-Four: Uwabami:

-Sena-

The snake is consuming us both. I can feel its poison running through my body. My lungs ache to breathe. I now understand the poison drowning my husband. I look over beside him in his futon.

Was this going to be how we meet our end?

It's gotten worse around us. Nobody wants to come out of their houses. Occasionally, they will peek out the window. When I go outside, my body feels like it is breaking apart. But we need food. Kiku has to eat. I have to close my eyes when I walk out the front door. A faint scream stabs my ears. I could feel the tears forming. Once outside, I open my eyes.

There is nothing out here. There's nothing out here. Th silence makes it worse. I shivered. I wanted to go back inside. No, I have to do this. Kiku needs to eat. I need to eat. I slowly took my first step. There's nothing. No people. No animals. No cars. Nothing.

I don't like this.

I walked with slow steps. I kept my eyes down. I used to hear whispering around my head. But now, there is nothing. The voices sounded so much better now. I shoved my hands into my pockets. Don't say a word. Don't make eye contact. Stay together. Stay together.

-Kiku-

She looked down at me. She's already here. It will only get worse. I see different faces every night. They come in and sit on my chest. It hurt to breathe. She stood in the corner, staring at me. Her lips curved into a cold smile. Please leave me alone. What more do you want from me?

"We aren't done."

My body froze. No… I don't know how much more I can take. But she's right. I'm not the only one in her crosshairs. Sena will be next. Then my brothers and sisters. After that, my friends. And I am powerless to stop her.

-Sena-

I made it to the store. I have not seen many people around. Tokyo used to be a busy city. Today, it's too quiet. I began to shiver. I could've sworn that I saw a couple of people peeking out at me from their windows. I knew what they were thinking. They're probably scared of me. I can't blame them. Kiku and I were poisoned. Could they see the rot on my skin?

I looked in the window of the 7-11. My body looked like it was falling apart. Small red bumps covered my stomach. Three days ago, I looked like my hair was falling out. I had a dream where my teeth were falling out too.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. I haven't slept in days. Just go inside and get the food. I walked into the store as if in a trance. It felt cold inside. My stomach turned. I shouldn't be here. But we need food.

I shouldn't get a large meal. Maybe something simple like ramen or soba. That should work. There's no one here. How will I pay for the food? I'll work something out.

Step. Step. Step. Step.

I didn't know why I look over my shoulder. There was nobody here. I'm the only one out. This neighborhood is dead. Nobody wants to come out. But I had to.

I started filling up my basket. Ramen, tea, rice, udon, water, and Botan Rice Candy. I didn't know why I got that last item. I didn't even like that type of candy. It reminded me of her. I guess I was trying to cling to something normal through all of this. Even if it came from bad memories.

I grabbed some Hi-Chew candy to chase out those memories. I walked up to the counter.

"Hello?" I asked. "Is anyone here? I have some things I want to buy. Are you here? Hello? Hello?" I got no response. I stood on my tiptoes for a better look in the back. My heart sank. No…

I turned and ran out of the store as fast as I could. I didn't even look back. I didn't realize it at the time but that was the first warning sign.

-Kiku-

I can see the pain of others. It started to sting my body.

Britain has become lost. They raped and bled him dry. He's just an empty shell now. Those vile witches took over everything. They have his money and his home. They weren't done with their harvest. England is drowning in our rot. We all tried to get him back but he is beyond help now. They won't stop there either. Just like the Woman in Red, they will want more.

They have already started to move.

There are seals all over Europe. They are like those damned gates in my home. These seals cannot be broken. I can't let them suffer like me. It may be too late for Arthur but not the others.

I already knew who they were targeting next. One of them has their eyes on Italy. He's already vulnerable. Ludwig hasn't woken up yet. His soul is trapped in Purgatory. Feliciano is desperate. He will do anything to get his dear friend back. A serpent already found its way in. It now opens itself, taking a bite.

Don't it, Feliciano! Please don't do it!

A tear ran down my cheek.

-Sena-

I made it back home. The way back was much worse. There was no one there. But the sense of dread wouldn't leave. I could feel eyes on me even though there was no on in sight. Even when I do make it home, the feeling doesn't go away.

"I'm home," I whispered. There was no answer inside. Kiku's probably asleep by now. I walked into our kitchen. I set all of the food.

It was then I realize that I am not alone.

"Hello?" I asked. "Is anyone there? Come out and show yourself." But I am alone.

No…

We weren't alone. She was holding the whole city as her hostage. Pretty soon, it won't be enough.

* * *

Two people are trapped in the rot. It will only get worse and there was no way to stop it. In fact, it was getting worse and spreading to the rest of the country.

The Doomsday Clock just started ticking louder.


	25. New Faust Deal

Match Twenty-Five: New Faust Deal:

Sabine had the pen and ink ready. Feliciano was so close to falling into sin. He just needed that push. That one little push.

-September 10th, 2015-

7:00 a.m.

The phone rang next Feliciano. He mumbled as he tried to turn over in his bed. The ringing grew louder. Lovino kicked him in the back.

"Wake up, you stupid jerk!" he barked. Three more kicks came to the back. Feliciano turned his head.

"What?" he asked.

"Get the phone," his brother hissed. The phone started ringing again.

"I've got it," Feliciano said. The younger Italian man picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" he asked. The call only lasted about five minutes. But that was all it took. The phone hit the bed as he jumped out of bed.

"Feliciano?" Lovino asked. His brother didn't speak as he got dressed. Feliciano hurried out the door.

* * *

He made it to the hospital before nine. Two doctors stood in the lobby, waiting for him.

"What happened?! How is he?!" Feliciano asked. They looked pretty grim.

"Tell me!" he yelled.

"It's not good," one of the doctors said.

"What do you mean? What's happening?!" the Italian man asked with tears in his eyes.

"Come with us," the first doctor said in a low voice. He and his colleague led the poor man down the hall.

* * *

Ludwig's body shook wildly. Doctors tried to keep him still as they treated him. The German man was foaming at the mouth. The doctor ran over to the patient.

"What's going on?! Why is he like this?!" Feliciano cried.

"We don't know," the second doctor said. "He just started seizing like this this morning. We've been trying to get it under control but it's getting worse." The machine's beeping grew erratic. Ludwig started to hit his head against the bed rail. A nurse tried to level his head. Feliciano tried to run in there but the doctor held him back.

"No, you can't go in there," he said.

"Ludwig! Ludwig!" Feliciano cried. One of the other doctors closed the door. The Italian man tried to go back for that doctor held him back.

"Is he going to be okay?!" Feliciano said. "Is he?! Is he?!" The doctor sighed.

"We don't know," he admitted. "We are going to do the best we can." The tears began falling down my cheeks.

"That's not good enough!" Feliciano shouted. He turned and ran out of the hospital.

* * *

Sabine sat in her hotel room, smiling.

"It's time," she said. She took a drink of her wine. A knock came on her door.

"Who is it?" the nightcomer asked.

"It's me, Ms. Mayfair," a guff man's voice said. Sabine perked up.

"Coming," she said. She walked over to the door and peeked out of the peep hole. A man in a long black coat stood outside with his hands in his pockets. Sabine smiled as she opened the door.

"Welcome," she said. The nightcomer stuck her head out into the hall and took a quick look around.

"Are you alone?" she whispered.

"Yes," the man said. Sabine looked around for a little bit longer. She smiled as she stood up straight.

"Okay," she said. "Come in. The nightcomer back into her room. The man followed behind and closed the door behind him. Sabine sat back on her armchair.

"Are you ready to begin?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Excellent," Sabine said. "You know what you need to do next." The man didn't answer. Instead, he transformed into a doctor with a clean white coat.

"Nice," the nightcomer said. The fake doctor vanished into thin air. Sabine sat back and took a drink of her wine.

* * *

Noon.

Feliciano just wanted to be alone. He buried his head in his hands. His eyes looked so red. How long had it been? Hours? It didn't matter. The doctors couldn't do anything. Ludwig was going to die. The Italian man started to shiver in his seat.

"No!" he wailed. "I don't want that to happen! I can't let it happen! I can't! I won't!" Feliciano broke down crying again. The tears didn't seem to want to stop falling.

"Excuse me," someone spoke up. Feliciano peeked through the cracks in his hands. A man in his fifties in a long white coat stood inches away from him. Feliciano froze as he lowered his hands.

"It's you," he said.

"Good afternoon," the fake doctor said. "So good to see you again." Feliciano stared at him in a daze. The doctor gave him a sympathetic look.

"It's pretty bad, isn't it?" he asked. The Italian man looked ready to cry. The doctor walked over and patted him on the back.

"It doesn't have to be like this," he whispered. "Let me help you." Feliciano looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

"You can do that?" he asked.

"Yes," Faust said. The Italian man sniffled.

"What should I do?" he asked. Dr. Faust held out his hand.

"Come with me," he said. Another tear ran down Feliciano's cheek as he reached out for his hand. His mind was so numb that he couldn't feel that icy chill of death as a warning sign.

* * *

3:00 p.m.

The men wound up at an abandoned church. The outside looked like it was crumbling. Walls looked so dark with time. The silence surrounding this church felt unholy. Feliciano trembled in the passenger seat. Dr. Faust got out of the car.

"Come along, Feliciano," he said. The Italian man didn't move at first. He stared at his new companion with big eyes. It had been three hours since he agreed to hear this man out. He could've asked to stop the car. He could've asked to turn around. He could've backed out of this.

"Come on now!" Dr. Faust said. "I don't have all day." The Italian man's stomach dropped as he unfastened his belt. He reluctantly climbed out of the car.

"Very good," the fake doctor said. Both men walked up broken stone path. Feliciano walked like he was going to an execution. His eyes shifted back and forth at the dead gardens on either side. Neither men said a word. Feliciano shoved his hands in his pockets. They made it up to the door. Dr. Faust pushed it open.

"After you," he said. The Italian man walked in with his head down. His captor followed behind. Dr. Faust closed the door behind them. The only source of light came from cracks in the stained-glass windows high above. Dr. Faust walked ahead and held out his arms.

"Welcome to my kingdom!" he said. This would've been a perfect time to have organ music playing in the background. Feliciano took a step backwards. The fake doctor smirked.

"Shall we begin?" he asked. The Italian man gulped. He couldn't turn back now.

* * *

9:00 p.m.

Sabine smiled in the darkness. She took another sip of her Lager.

"Five… Four… Three… Two…," she counted down. She took one more drink. "One."

The grounds of around Europe started to shake. It lasted about three minutes before everything became still. Sabine finished her drink.

"One seal down, six more to go," she said. Sabine Mayfair would be heading back to England in the morning.

* * *

Midnight.

Hours later, Ludwig opened his eyes.


	26. Maria is Bleeding

Match Twenty-Six: Maria is Bleeding:

Antonio was in church when he saw the effects of the first seal. The priest was in the middle of mass when drops of blood fell on his open bible. He had to stop and look up. Blood drops fell in a consistent flow. A drop landed on his face.

"Santo padre en el cielo!" the priest gasped. The congregation whispered to each other. Was this work of a saint? Antonio turned grim as he shook his head.

No.

He knew what this really was. It didn't take long to put the pieces together. Antonio jumped up to his feet and hurried out of the church.

* * *

Antonio pulled out his phone and dialed up the number he needed to call. He started pacing around as he waited.

"Come on, come on," he muttered. "Pick up the damn phone. This is really important."

"Hello?" a guff Italian voice asked on the other line.

"Lovino, where is your brother?" the Spanish man asked. There was a pause on the other line.

"Lovino?" Antonio asked.

"I don't know," Lovino said. The Spanish man rubbed his forehead.

"When did you last see him?" he asked. "Come on, think hard."

"Um… last night," the older Italian said. "Why?"

"How did he seem?" Antonio asked. "This is really important. How did your brother seem?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Lovino asked. "What is going on?"

"How did he seem? Tell me!" the Spanish man shouted. There was another pause on the other line.

"I don't know," the older Italian man said. "He got in late. I was half-asleep. He didn't say anything. He just went to bed." Antonio looked so pale after hearing this.

"Okay, thank you," he said. He hung up before Lovino said another word.

* * *

The older countries met at Antonio's house.

"Thank you for coming," he said with a tray of spicy tea and coffee. "It's gotten worse than what we thought." Roderich picked up his glass.

"What is this about?" the Austrian man asked. Antonio joined them on the couch.

"The first seal has been broken," he said in a low voice. All eyes fell on him.

"You can't be serious," Gilbert said.

"Si," the Spanish man said. "Have you had any calls from the hospital?"

"Yeah," the Prussian man said. "Ludwig woke up. They are going to discharge him in a couple of days."

"Just as I thought," Antonio said. Gilbert gave him a strange look.

"What do you mean? You can't possibly suggest…" he said.

"I'm afraid so," the Spanish man said. Gilbert shook his head.

"No… No, that can't be," he said.

"I'm so sorry," Antonio said. He set down his glass. "The righteous man shall be tempted to join the fallen." Elizabeta shook her head.

"No," she said. "Feliciano wouldn't…"

"He has," the Spanish man said.

"But…" the Hungarian woman said. She seemed to answer her own question. "He wouldn't…" Roderich put his arm around her shoulders. His girlfriend started to tremble.

"There must be something we can do to get him back," Elizabeta said. "Isn't there?" Antonio pressed his lips together.

"There is, but…" he said.

"What?" Yao asked. Antonio looked down at the table.

"We have six more seals," he said. His gaze turned to Yao. "Has Im Yong been talking to his sister lately?" The Chinese man froze.

"Not that I know of," he said. "Are you suggesting…"

"A torn nation shall reunify again," Antonio said. Yao shook his head.

"Im Yong knows better," he said.

"Hey if Feliciano can sell his soul to get Ludwig out of his stupor," the Spanish man said. "Who's to say that Mi-Soon won't get to him?"

"I won't let it happen," Yao muttered under his breath.

"What about the other seals?" Roderich asked.

"I am trying to remember them," Antonio said. "Those are the first two that I have remember so far." Everyone looked at Gilbert.

"What?" he asked. "I don't remember much about these seals either. I haven't been in church much. Spain would be the one to know more."

"In any case," Antonio said. "We have to act now or we will all die."

"Agreed," the others said.

"I will talk to Feliciano myself," the Spanish man said. "It might not be much but we can try." Elizabeta perked up. Her boyfriend rubbed her back. Antonio didn't know why he said that. He couldn't promise anything. Maybe… Just maybe…

* * *

A promise was a promise. But first, Antonio needed to make an important stop. Ludwig hadn't been discharged just yet. The doctors needed to run one set of tests. Antonio made it to the patient's room. Ludwig sat up in his bed fully awake.

"Hey!" Antonio said in an upbeat tone.

"Antonio?" the German man asked. "Is that you? How have you been?" The Spanish man breathed in relief.

"Oh good, you still remember me," he said. "Have you had many visitors?" The German nodded.

"They come and go," he said.

"I see," the Spanish man said. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed. His face looked so grim.

"Have you seen Feliciano today? Or ever since you woke up again?" he asked. "Think hard now. This is important." Ludwig did his best to remember.

"No," he said at last. The Spanish man didn't know whether he should be worried or relieved. Antonio leaned in close enough for the German man to hear him.

"There's something I need to tell you about Feliciano," he whispered.

"What about me?" the men heard behind them. Antonio's stomach dropped as he turned his head. Feliciano stood in the doorway of the room. Everything looked normal about him except for that cold smile on his face.


	27. Chung-Ui

Match Twenty-Seven: Chung-Ui:

Im Yong stared at his screen. She's requesting another call. He shouldn't be doing this. It wasn't her fault. Her boss was insane. Mi-Soon could just smile and go along with it to keep the peace. Now, she was trying to get him to come home. The twins danced around the subject for months.

Tonight would be different.

Mi-Soon finally picked up her line on her end.

"Brother," she said. "I'm so glad you are here."

"Yeah," Im Yong said. They sat in silence for a hot minute. He pressed his lips together. "What do you want from me?" Mi-Soon looked desperate.

"Please come back with me," she pleaded.

"I can't," he said. His sister looked ready to cry.

"I don't want you to die!"

"What do you mean? Why do you keep saying that?"

Mi-Soon eyes shifted away from the screen. Her brother narrowed his eyes at her. Im Yong folded his arms across his chest.

"Tell me the truth," he said. "What is going on?" She looked back at me, rubbing her forehead.

"Are you familiar with the Woman in Red?" Mi-Soon asked. Her brother rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," he said.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation," she said.

"Enlighten me. What don't I understand?" Here it came again. The Koran boy braced himself for another lame story. Her face looked so serious.

"She could kill us all if she wanted," Mi-Soon mumbled.

"What?" Im Yong asked.

"She has taken brother Kiku and sister Sena," she added. Her brother froze. It was true that their brother and sister-in-law had been acting strange lately. No one could figure out what was wrong. Kiku just came home from the hospital, in fact. The rest of the siblings hadn't seen them around since a couple of months ago.

"Okay… say that you are right," Im Yong said. "Why?"

"That's where she's been imprisoned," she said.

"Huh?"

Mi-Soon leaned in with a somber look on her face. "I'm serious. I don't want to lose you. You are much safer with me." Her words were acid dipped in honey. He knew what they would mean if he went with her.

"Can I have time to think about it?" Im Yong asked in a small voice.

"There is no time!" Mi-Soon said. "The world is ending. You have to decide now!" Her shouting made him fall out of his chair. Im Yong had never seen her like that before.

"Okay… Right, right," he said. The Korean boy nodded as he said this. He wanted to shut everything down and run out of the room.

But then she made it worse.

"Are you free on Saturday?" Mi-Soon asked. Im Yong froze.

"Why?" he asked.

"I want to talk to you," she said. "In person." Those last two words sent Im Yong into a panic.

"You… want to see me… in person?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. No warmth in her voice. Im Yong lowered his eyes. His sister breathed out.

"Good," she said. "I will see you at the I am a Burger at noon." Mi-Soon looked behind her.

"I have to go," she whispered. "We will talk on Saturday." The younger Korean twin hung up before her brother could say a word.

Im Yong was just left sitting there beside himself. He wasn't sure what exactly happened.

* * *

-Tessa-

Sabine wasn't the only nightcomer looking for a way to break the seven seals.

Tessa had her eyes on Asia. The second seal wasn't in Europe. She tried to tell Sabine that but her sister wouldn't listen.

"You just want Mother's glory," she said with a snort.

"I am not," Tessa insisted. "You are just looking around in the wrong place." Sabine put her hands on her hips.

"And how can you be so sure?" she asked.

"A torn nation shall reunify again," Tessa said. "Isn't it obvious?" Sabine thought about this for a moment.

"Probably," she said. "What is your aim?"

"What are you talking about? I just want the same thing you do," her sister said. Sabine narrowed her eyes.

"Are you trying to test me?" she asked.

"Look, I just want the same thing you do," Tessa said. "Do you want me to help you do this or not?" Her sister glared at her. She didn't want to end up like Lucy but they all needed to pull ahead of Tandeki in this game.

"The Koreas, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tessa insisted.

"You have your passport ready?" Sabine asked. Her sister grinned.

"You know I do," she said. The older nightcomer frowned. She would have to put up with it for now.

* * *

-Korean Twins-

Here it was.

Im Yong sat alone in I am a Burger. He sat in a booth, looking out the window. On the upside, there were so many people around. The boy made his order, but he wasn't hungry. He sighed. Part of him hoped that she would show up. Maybe he could just get up and leave. Nobody would notice, right? It should be okay, yes?

"Brother?" a small voice asked. Im Yong froze before turning his head. Mi-Soon stood at the table, eyeing him. No uniform this time. Just traditional clothes. Her brother sat there, blinking with unease.


	28. Misère

Match Twenty-Eight: Misère:

Francis looked at his wine. He sighed as he looked at the surface. This wasn't tasting as good as it normally did.

"Is something the matter?" a small voice asked. The Frenchman glanced over to his left. A waitress girl stood next to him, leaned in. Francis shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing, my dear," he said.

"Can I get you more wine?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked.

"No, just give me a little more time," Francis said.

"Okay," the waitress said. She turned and walked to the back. He turned back to his glass. This wine didn't taste so good. It was then he noticed an old lady looking up at him. She had to about seventy years old. Her brown fur coat looked too hot for the warm autumn. The jewels were too big not to notice. The woman was smoking a fancy cigarette. Something about her made the French man shiver.

"Excuse me, miss?" Francis asked. The old lady looked up. At first, the French man didn't know what to say. Something about this woman's gaze made him uncomfortable. Where had he seen this before? The old lady flicked out her cigarette. She had a curious look on her face. Suddenly, the woman got up and walked over to his table. The younger man froze. His new companion raised her eyebrow.

"You look familiar," she said. Francis chuckled nervously.

"I got that a lot," he said. The woman took him by the chin. Such a touch took his mind back to a dark place. His new companion smiled and chuckled.

"Oh my, what am I doing?" she asked. "My mind must be going." The old lady let go of his face.

"I'm sorry, did I remind you of someone?" Francis asked.

"In a way," the old woman said.

"May I ask who?" the Frenchman asked. He thought it would be a grandson or a nephew. The old lady gave him a little smile.

"A sex worker I used to pimp," she said. His stomach dropped.

"Oh…" he mumbled.

His mind trailed back to another unsettling place.

-1963-

His pimp used to say he looked beautiful. He was so young at sixteen too. This boy would fetch a pretty penny. And he did too. It didn't take long for the youth to reach the top. Night after night, another man came for the boy. They would use him. It didn't mattered what he wanted. The golden-haired boy would lay in his bed, shivering. Everyone would just take and take and take. He couldn't keep up. His body couldn't keep up. They didn't care. He was just a plaything to be used whenever they wanted.

* * *

-Present Day-

"Young man?" the old lady said. "Are you okay? Young man? Young man?" Francis about jumped in his chair, spilling his wine.

"Huh? Oh," he said.

"You look so pale," his companion said. She reached out to touch his forehead. Everyone looked up when they heard a slapping noise in the small restaurant. Francis lowered his hand, panting.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just…" The old lady looked so confused at first.

"Bad memories?" she asked.

"I don't know," Francis said. "I think so." The Frenchman rubbed his forehead. The old woman took a drag of her cigarette. The younger man cringed.

"You used to be a madam?" he asked.

"That's right," she said.

"You don't look like one," was all that he could say. The old woman laughed.

"Those were my glory days," she said. She leaned back in her chair and smiled.

"I felt like a queen," his companion added. "I was quite the looker, you know?" Francis slowly nodded.

"I see," he said. He found himself in a strange place. On the one hand, he wanted to turn around and run. On the other hand, something inside of him wanted to hear more of her story.

"What was it like?" Francis asked. "How long were you a madam?" The former madam's eyes twinkled as she eyed him.

"Do you have to go anywhere today?" she asked.

"No," the Frenchman admitted. This felt familiar. The warning signs were there but he couldn't see or hear them.

"Have you eaten yet?" the older lady asked.

"No," Francis said. His companion stuck up his arm in the air.

"Waitress!" she shouted. "We're ready to order!" The young waitress walked over to the table and took their orders. The whole time Francis tried to force himself to stay calm and smile. The old lady didn't need to look at the menu to order her lunch.


	29. Alone, Unwanted Visitor, and Unease

Match Twenty-Nine: Alone, Unwanted Visitor, and Unease:

-Ju-

I hate when it's quiet like this. I feel something bad will happen. It was like before I got married. It doesn't help that I will be alone for the day. Yao went to Seoul for another business deal. I can't go with him because I will be due in a few days. That's right, this is the last month of my pregnancy. I will be due in two weeks. I will be happy when that day comes. Little Bean is wearing me down. Not being able to work drives me crazy. Bik has taken so much from me.

"You need to rest," she said. "That baby will be due any day now." I love Bik to pieces but if I have to hear about how I need to rest that I will go crazy. I'm tempted to reached out and throttle her. I don't know. I just want something to do. I need something to do, damn it!

I hadn't planned on doing anything today. What choice did I have? I'm not really allowed to do much for the next two weeks. I can only eat, take a bath, and sleep. I'm not hungry right now. I could just take a bath and go to bed. Part one was already set up.

But then, the doorbell rang.

Huh? It's about seven in the morning. I'm not expecting anyone today. Who is that? The doorbell rang again.

"Uh… I'm coming!" I shouted. I put on a bathrobe and hurried down to the front door. I looked out the peep hole.

"Who is it?" I asked. When I looked outside, my stomach dropped. It was her. It was that crazy lady who cornered me in the flea market. How did she get my address? What was she doing here?

"Hello, dear," she said. I started backing away from the door.

"There's no one here," I lied.

"Come on, Mrs. Wang," that crazy lady said. "I don't want to hurt you. I just want to talk."

"Go away!" I shouted. "Ten minutes. Just give me ten minutes."

"No!" I shouted. She started turning the doorknob. The doorbell kept ringing. What should I do? I did my best to hurry over to the kitchen for the phone. I picked up the receiver.

"That's not going to do you any good," I heard in my ear. The phone hit the floor. I whipped around. She stood in front of me, grinning.

"Hello, darling," she said. I started backing away.

"H-H-How did you get into my house?" I asked.

"I have my ways," this crazy woman said. She held out her hand as I reached for the receiver without bending down.

"Oh, where are my manners?" this woman asked. "My name is Allison Mayfair. And you are?"

"Wang Ju," I said. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" Ms. Mayfair smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Guilty!" she said. I could feel my right twitching.

"Why are you here?" I asked. "What do you want with me?" Everything about this woman made my skin crawl. Her smile didn't make it any better.

"I just want to talk," she said. I raised my eyebrow.

"About what?" I asked. She took me by the hands. Little Bean started to kick in my stomach. I winced at the sensation. This kicking wasn't normal either. I thought that I would die from their kicks.

"Something the matter, dear?" Ms. Mayfair asked. I slipped one hand from her grasp.

"My child doesn't seem to be happy that you are here," I said.

"Aw," this crazy woman said. I should try and call the police now. Ms. Mayfair wouldn't let go of my hand.

"You don't want to do that, dear," she said.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Just hear me out and everyone will be fine," this woman told me. I about threw up in my mouth.

* * *

Moments later, we sat at my kitchen table. The phone is behind me. My cell is upstairs, charging. I am stuck with her. At least Little Bean has settled down some. Ms. Mayfair locked her eyes on me.

"Out with it," I said at last. "Why are you here? You are creeping me out?" The clock ticking in the background wasn't helping either.

"I am looking for the golden child," Ms. Mayfield said.

"Okay…" I said. "What does that have to do with me?" Little Bean kicked again. They clearly don't like this lady. I don't blame you, kid. She's creeping me out too.

"I found the child here in China," she said.

"There are millions of mothers-to-be here," I said. "Why choose me?"

"You are a good candidate."

"But why?" I held my hand to my stomach the whole time. I looked over my shoulder. The phone was right there. I could just get up and call for help.

"Do you have any tea?" Ms. Mayfield asked.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Tea," she said again. "Do you have any?" I wrinkled my nose.

"Yes, but you will have to wait," I said. "I'm tired and my feet and back hurt." Ms. Mayfield raised her eyebrow.

"That's not very hostly, is it?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but if you hadn't noticed…" I said. I held my hand to stomach. My forced guest shrugged.

"Fair enough," she said. I glared at her.

"Could you please leave?" I asked.

"I will," Ms. Mayfield said. "Once I have everything I need to know." By now, I wanted to jump up and strangle her. Damn it! The phone was behind me. It would just take one call. One call! One call and she would be out of my house!

Suddenly, Little Bean kicked me again. It was a painful one too. I huddled down, winced and gasping for air.

"Are you okay?" Ms. Mayfield asked again. I glared at her as I clenched my teeth.

"My child wants you to leave," I said. "If you don't get out of here, I will get up and call the police!" I expected her to talk me out of this. Instead, she stood up and shrugged.

"Fine," she said. "I have all that I needed to know anyway."

"Huh?" I asked. Ms. Mayfair smiled and bowed.

"Thank you for your time," she said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Who are you really?" I never got an answer to my questions. Before I knew it, she was gone. Ms. Mayfield had disappeared just as mysteriously as she appeared in my house. I put my hand to my forehead. Little Bean had settled down again. But not before I heard Ms. Mayfield's voice in my head one last time.

* * *

"I'm home," I heard Yao say from the living room. I hurried down from our room and down to the front door. I grabbed onto Yao as tightly as I could.

"Ju?" he asked. "Ju? What's the matter? You're shaking. Did something happen?" I rested my head against his chest. I couldn't voice the feeling of panic. I could hear Ms. Mayfair's words rolling around in my head.

"I will come back for your soon when the time is right."


	30. Deciduous

Match Twenty-Nine: Deciduous:

Florence didn't have long to live. It was a miracle that she had lasted this long. Alfred leaned against the side of her bed. He reached forward and took her hand. In the last few days, more memories started to come together in his head. Alfred had known Florence from another life. That had to be it. It had to be.

"Alfred?" Florence asked in a faint voice. Alfred lifted his head.

"I'm right here," he said. She could barely see anymore. Her eyesight had been going for weeks. She didn't get out of bed anymore. The doctors couldn't do anything about it.

"The best you can do is to make sure that she's comfortable," the last one told him and Lydia. She took it as if she had to swallow the most bitter pill in the world. Her jaw fixed closed as she lowered her eyes.

"And how do we do that?" Alfred asked with tears in his eyes. He had always hated that phrase. Why did they say that? Did they even know how to do that? The doctor patted him on the shoulder.

"Just do the best you can," he said in a low voice. "She needs you right now. She needs both of you." Each word felt like a slap in the face. It took Alfred's all not to scream in his face.

"Thank you, doctor," Lydia said. The doctor packed up his things.

"I will see myself out," he said. Alfred trembled in rage as the doctor and walked away. Lydia did little to put him at ease.

"I know it sucks, but we knew this was coming for quite some time," she said. Alfred just glared at her. He hated her for being right.

This morning, she went out shopping for the week.

"Did you want something?" Alfred asked. Florence didn't speak. Sometimes, he couldn't tell if she was asleep or not. Still, the American man didn't feel it would right to leave her. Meanwhile, there were more memories clicking together in his head.

"Do you want to hear something strange?" he asked. Alfred couldn't tell if she was looking at him or not. Well, might as well say it now before she kicks the bucket.

"I think we might have met before," he said. "In another life." Alfred didn't wait for a response.

"I remember being in a bad place," he said. "You tried to help me. But I turned you down when I needed you most." Alfred paused.

"I don't know what I am saying here," he confessed. Every memory started to play in his head. He could never remember the girl's name. She had always been there for him. She never gave up on him.

Alfred pressed his lips together.

"I guess what I am trying to say is that, I am sorry," he said. "I don't know if you'll ever forgive me or not. But I just want you to know that I am sorry I hurt you." Alfred leaned down and kissed her on the lips. This had happened before.

-1997-

They almost died last night. But it wasn't together.

His starvation caught up to him. His heart became too weak. A neighbor called 911 and rode with him to the hospital. The boy's parents might have been on vacation at the time. Alfred didn't fully remember. He just remembered waking up in the hospital. All of the white walls felt suffocating. The bright lights hurt his eyes. Felt too familiar. Was he going to die this time?

Footsteps walked into the room.

Here came another nurse. She took out her chart and began writing on it. Despite not hearing what she was saying too well, he answered anyway. He's done this before. Only the neighbor came by to visit. But it was a pity visit. He didn't really care that much. The only person that did was gone.

He would be gone soon.

Wait… Did they say her name? Was she here to visit him after all?

No.

She and her boyfriend got into a really bad car accident following a fight. She confessed that she had cheated on him with the starving boy that she tried to save. Her boyfriend didn't take it so well. An argument ensued and he hit her. She fought back. Things got ugly and he crashed the car. Boyfriend died on impact. She was rushed to the hospital. The same hospital that that starving boy was. Her chances didn't look good. She hadn't woken up from her coma. The doctors feared that she wouldn't make it.

She was here because of him.

He asked for her room number the best that he could do many times. The nurses and doctors wouldn't tell him. His body was too weak this point. Too much movement would kill him. But he had to see her before she slipped away for good. He had to say that he was sorry. Sorry for turning her away. Sorry for hurting her. One nurse finally relented.

Room 292.

He had to get there no matter what it took. But right now, he was under consent watch. If this kept up, he would never get the chance again. The night before they were supposed to graduate was when he made his move.

Around midnight, he was alone in his room. Getting out of bed was a struggle. His body became too weak. Everything ached all over. But that did little to detour him. He would have to suck it up and walk to her room.

Each step felt so heavy. He thought that he was going to collapse. When did this hallway get so long? None of that mattered to him. He only had one thought in mind.

_I have to see her again. I have to see her again._

He made it to the elevator and pressed the down button. She was one floor down from him. When the cab opened, he stumbled inside. He used his dwelling strength to press two before dropping his arm to the floor. The short ride down gave him a chance to rest.

When the doors opened, he had to start his walk again. More painful steps. He felt like his heart was going to burst. His vision became blurred but he wouldn't stop. Not even this long hall to the ICU.

At last, he made it. Room 292. He didn't know whether to last or cry. He didn't have the time. He pushed open the door and collapsed onto the hard floor. That would be the last time he would ever walk again. He crawled over to her bed.

There she was. If it wasn't for the machine, mask, and tubes in body, he would've thought that she was just asleep. It tore him up inside to see her like this. This was all his fault. He did this.

Tears started to well up in his eyes. He crawled up to her bedside. He leaned in close to her sleeping face. Saying all of this to her felt like a hard pill to swallow.

"****," he said. "I don't know if you will live long or not. But I just want to say…" The tears wouldn't stop falling.

"You were trying to help me but I ended up hurting you," he said. "I really do love you and I don't deserve you. I was just in a bad place." The more tears poured the more it hurt to say it.

"I don't deserve anything good you give me," he said. "But I want to at least say this." He reached for her hand the best that he could.

"I don't know if you will forgive me or not," he said. "But I am so sorry that I ever hurt you." He finally broke down crying. When the nurses found him the next morning, he could barely stand. They had to walk him back to his room.

She never woke up. She passed away the next night. Two days later, he followed behind.

-Present Day-

Lydia found Alfred sound asleep by Florence's side. She sighed and shook her head.

"Oh well," the young woman said. She just let him be. Might as well. He's been good to them both through all of this.

* * *

Florence died quietly three days later. Alfred didn't get until morning over the phone.

"She's gone!" Lydia wailed on the other line. Those words felt like an ice pick to the eye.

"No…" he said a soft voice. "No. No. No! No!" Lydia cried over the phone. Alfred sank to his knees, clutching the phone. Tears welled up behind his glasses. They never did establish what they were. He still loved her. Did she feel the same way? He would never know.

Lydia took care of all the funeral arrangements. Florence's funeral was on a Saturday. Only Alfred, Lydia, Mrs. Gomez, and one doctor showed up. Each one came up with something to say. The American man went last. He didn't know what to say at first. But he figured that he would try anyway.

"I have grown close to Florence over these short years," he said. "And I've fallen in love with her. I don't know how she felt about me. Now, I will never know. I love you, Florence. I love you so much." He took his seat.

"That was beautiful," the doctor whispered to him. The American man didn't say a word. He felt at peace now. Did his past self feel the same as he did before he died? Maybe Florence did love him in her own way. A way that he'd probably never understand. He would never know.

Or would he?

Florence would be laid to rest under a lush green willow tree in a private cemetery.

* * *

That evening, Lydia went home. She wiped away her tears. The young woman expected to come home to an empty house. Lydia sighed as she opened the door.

_This is my life now._  She didn't know what to do.

When Lydia opened the door, her eyes widened in shock. She covered her mouth as surprise washed over her face.

"Oh my…" Lydia said. She pulled out her cell phone and called up Alfred.

"You aren't going to believe this!" Lydia said.


	31. Yuki Onna

Match Thirty-One: Yuki Onna:

Kiku's heart was in pain. He just sits at the window and stares into space. He already knew what was coming. In a few more days, the baby would be born. Ju was due in two weeks. Why did he feel so uneasy? Kiku clutched his chest.

The doorbell rang.

Kiku turned his head.

"Feliciano?" he heard Sena ask. "What are you doing here?" Feliciano?

"I just stopped by to see Kiku," the Italian man said. Something didn't sound right. He didn't sound so upbeat and cheery like he normally did. Feliciano sounded so subdued, almost like he was whispering. Kiku wandered over to the doorway.

"I'm sorry, sting right now," Sena lied.

"I'm right here," Kiku spoke up. His wife and Feliciano looked up.

"I just woke up," the Japanese man lied.

All three sat at the table in the living room. Feliciano had a cold little smile on his face. His eyes looked so dull too.

"What brings you by?" Sena asked.

"I was in the neighborhood," Feliciano said. "And I thought I would stop by."

"Uh-huh," she said. Kiku kept his eyes on the table.

"What is the matter, Japan?" the Italian man asked. "You don't look so good."

"I feel sick," Kiku said, almost rambling.

"Do you need to go back to bed?" Sena asked. Her husband shook his head.

"You sure?" she asked. Kiku nodded. Feliciano sat quiet. He watched as if watching something entertaining. Then the Japanese man asked something inaudible.

"Hm?" the Italian asked. Kiku's eyes grew wide.

"Are you really Feliciano?" he asked.

"What?" Sena asked. The Italian man didn't look offended at all.

"Of course I am," he said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No…" Kiku said, shaking his head. "You are not him. You are not him." Feliciano looked at him, pouting.

"Why would you say that?" he asked.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Sena cut in.

"No thank you," Feliciano said. "I don't think I will be staying long."

"How is Ludwig doing?" she asked. The Italian man shrugged.

"Don't know," he said. The couple looked up at him.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sena asked. "You haven't gone to see him yet."

"No," the Italian man said. There was no emotion in his voice. Wasn't Ludwig the one that he cared the most? Why hadn't seen him yet?

"Why haven't you seen him yet?" Sena asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Busy," was all the Italian man said.

"Doing what?" she asked.

"Just… busy," he said. Feliciano rose to his feet. "Goodbye. It was nice talking to you."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Sena asked. "You just got here."

"I know," he said. "I just came by to see Kiku. And now I have. Goodbye." The Italian man walked up to the front door.

"Feliciano!" Sena said. She tried to walk over to him but Kiku grabbed her wrist. Sena whipped her head around.

"Kiku?" she asked. Her husband looked down at the table again. This time, he was trembling.

"Baby?" Sena asked. "Baby?" Kiku didn't speak.

The front door slammed closed.

* * *

Tandeki has Japan. Mam still wants it. Kiku is stuck in the middle of this End of Days. He looked like he was about to stretched out to his limit. Sena started to feel it too.

"You know something?" she said. "We should get out. Go somewhere far, far away."

"And go where?" he asked, trembling. "She will never let us go. She will keep following us until we are taken over. We can't escape from her. She won't let us go." He was right. Their house had become a prison. He could feel her eyes on him.

Their neighbors could feel it too. Ikebukuro had it the worst. Kiku already knew what was coming next. It was always the same thing. That section of Tokyo was stuck in tis time loop.

"So what can we do?" Sena asked. Her husband shook his head. She gritted her teeth. It could not end this way.

"It can't end this way!" the woman shouted.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," he kept muttering to himself. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"No," Sena said. "This isn't your fault." Right then, she knew what she had to do.

* * *

Sena made her way to Heracles' house. She pounded on the door.

"Heracles!" the woman yelled. "Get out here now! It's gotten worse!" She backed up when the door opened. The Greek man looked at her half-asleep.

"What is it?" he asked. "What's going on?" Heracles paused as he looked at Sena's shoulder. He took a step backwards.

"Sena!" Heracles said with a gasp. "What happened to you?" She looked so pale. When did she get so thin? Sena stared at him with big, tired eyes.

"You have to help my Kiku," she said. "She's going to kill him. I just know it. I don't want him to die. You have to help him!"


	32. Labor, Horrors, and New Era

Match Thirty-Two: Labor, Horrors, and New Era:

-Ju-

My water just broke! I was in bed when it happened. I was just tired and wanted to sleep. Little Bean wouldn't let me rest last night. Yao did his best to tend to me. He ran me a bath and played calming music. It had worked for the most part.

Then Little Bean decided it was time to be born.

Just as I had settle into bed, I felt a sharp pain to my abdomen. I winced as I grabbed my stomach. Then something wet ran down my leg.

"Yao! Yao!" I screamed. Another wave of pain shot through my body. Footsteps raced up the stairs. I looked up to see the door bursting open.

"What's wrong?!" Yao shouted. "What's happened?!"

"My water just broke!" I cried. He leapt up into panic.

"Can you move?" he asked.

"No!" I shouted. "Another shot of pain struck me."

"Okay, okay!" Yao said. "Hang on!" He ran to the nightstand and picked up the phone. I turned my head, wincing. Little Bean was ready to come out. Yao was on the phone calling up the rest of the clan. He had to try and pulled me out of bed to the best of his ability. Yao draped a coat over my shoulders.

"The others are on their way," he whispered. I nodded as I clutched my stomach. He had to walk me down the stairs step by step.

"Are you okay?" Yao whispered in my ear.

"No!" I said. I whimpered pain.

"Okay, stay with me," he said. My mind was too focused on the pain. Were there always been this many stairs? Fei and Hen-to were waiting downstairs for us. They looked so far down.

"How is she?" Hen-to asked.

"Ow!" I screamed. I tried to hold my coat closed while clutching my stomach. Couldn't Little Bean wait a moment?

"We've got you," Fei said. "Come here." They helped me down the last step. The whole time, I felt my water running down my leg.

Bik and Cai already sat in the car waiting. They helped me inside.

"Take deep breaths," Bik said in my ear. I started to breathe in heavily. The men climbed into the front seat. Hen-to was the one to drive us to the hospital.

* * *

We made it to the hospital about ten at night. I didn't know. The pain was getting worse. That drive went on for hours. The traffic didn't help either. Bik and Cai talked to me the whole time.

"Don't forget to breathe," Bik said.

"I'm going to die!" I cried. Cai stroked my hair.

"You're not going to die," she said. "We're going to get you help." They walked me up to the front desk.

"Doctor!" Yao shouted. "We need help! The baby's coming!" That was enough to get the nurses and doctors to come aid us. They came out with the stretcher. I wouldn't let go of Yao's hand. The pain only grew worse.

"I don't want to die," I whispered.

"You won't," he whispered. He kissed me on the lips as I lay back on the stretcher. Tears filled my eyes. My husband smiled down at me as we disappeared down the hall.

* * *

The lights blinked overhead. I screamed in pain as the nurses kept talking to me.

"You're doing well, Mrs. Wang. Hang in there."

I wouldn't let go of Yao's hand. I'm sure he tried to comfort me as we were rushed back to the room. From there, it all disappears in a blur.

Looking back, I don't know if these next few hours were normal. It might have just been in my head due to the pain. The drugs made it that much worse.

First came the whispering. I couldn't tell if it was the nurses or someone else. Their words didn't come out clearly either.

"Yao! Yao!" I shouted.

"I'm right here," he said. His voice sounded so far away. I could see him running with me. The nurse wiped the sweat off my forehead. I don't know when we got into the room. Little Bean was really trying to come out now. The doctor was the last one to enter the room.

"Stay with us, dear," Yao said. He kissed me on the forehead. A nurse looked down at me.

"She's crowning!" she said.

"What?" I asked. The doctor rushed over to me. They started talking over me but I could barely make out what they were saying. There came that damned whispering again. That's when my mind went into a strange place.

I started hearing thunder from outside. When did it start storming? They said it was going to be a clear night tonight. My mind kept going back to that Mayfair woman.

"I will come back for your son when the time is right."

My son? How would she even know what I was having? Yao and I took care not to find out until this moment. Until now, I had my eyes shut.

"Push! Push!" the nurses yelled.

"Ow!" Yao shouted. "Dear, you're going to break my hand!" I could barely hear them. My body acted on its own. I started to push and the pain grew worse.

"I'm going to die!" I screamed.

"You're going to," a doctor said a in calm voice. "You're doing good, Mrs. Wang. Keep pushing." Was I screaming? I couldn't tell anymore. This felt like it was taking forever. Within this endless sea of pain, I felt like someone was watching me. I peeked out through one eye.

There she was.

Ms. Mayfair stood in the corner, staring at me. Her eyes locked on my child's head. (The nurses said that they could see the head at some point. I think that's what they said.) No… Stay away from me. Stay away! Stay away! Her smile made my heart pound against my chest.

"Oh no! She's under stress!" a nurse shouted.

"What?" Yao asked. They started talking again. What? What's going on? I don't like this. I'm fine! I'm fine! Am I going to die? I don't want to die! I closed my eyes and started crying. This was it. This was going to be the end of me. I'm going to die here today. I'm sorry everyone. I'm sorry Yao. I'm so sorry, Little Bean.

But suddenly, I felt a hand on my head. I paused as I looked up. A small child floated over me. I couldn't see any facial features. Only the shape of a four-year-old's body. For some reason, I felt myself calming down. The child only said one thing to me.

"Don't worry, Mama. I won't let anyone hurt you. I won't let you die."

And just like that, I had calmed down. The fear and the panic of Ms. Mayfair had faded away. It all came together with one more push.

* * *

On October thirteenth, 2015, my son was born at six in morning. The nurses cleaned him off and handed him to me.

"He's such a beautiful boy," she whispered. I lifted my head in a tired way.

"Can I hold him?" I asked. The nurse broke into a huge smile.

"Of course you can," she said. She handed me my son. The first to cross my mind was he had such a round face. Are babies always this pink when they're born?

"Are they always this pink when they are born?" I asked. Yao sat beside me, looking at our baby boy.

"Sometimes," he said. I remembered hearing Little Bean crying when he was born. Right now, he was calm in my arms.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" the nurse asked. Yao and I looked up at her.

"Yes," I said. The nurse pulled out her pen from behind her ear.

"What is his name?" she asked. I broke into a big smile.

"Wang Jing," I said. I looked up at Yao.

"That sounds good to me," he said.

"Wang Jing," the nurse said as wrote down our son's name. I could feel myself smiling. This peace wasn't going to last. But I could enjoy this moment with my dear husband and darling Jing. My baby felt so soft and warm in my arms. He looked so peaceful in the middle of the storm that could be coming for us.

In a way, I envied him.


End file.
